


All That's Left

by akirafanatic



Category: One Piece
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-04-05 11:19:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 43,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14043111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akirafanatic/pseuds/akirafanatic
Summary: A promise, no matter how small, is something you make only when you're prepared to die to see it through





	1. Chapter 1

Luffy's day had gone from bad to worse. First, he was woken up with a 'Fist of Love' from his grampa before the sun was even up, and then he was forced to  _'train'_  so he could 'become an upstanding marine' until breakfast before even  _more_  training until lunch. It didn't matter how many times he told gramps he was going to be the king of the pirates – gramps would just hit him and tell him he was going to become a marine before making the training harder.

He was exhausted. Gramps had left him to eat, and said he'd be back to train him more when he was done. Luffy wanted to run but was too exhausted and knew Gramps would find him and just make training even harder.

Finishing the last of his food, he flopped onto his back to rest as much as he could. Staring up at the sky, he frowned when he saw smoke. Lots of smoke. The last time he'd seen that much smoke, the Gray Terminal had been burned by the nobles.

Sitting up quickly, Luffy's heart skipped a beat when he realized the smoke was coming from the  _opposite_  side of the island from the Gray Terminal. It was coming from Windmill Village.

Ignoring his exhaustion, Luffy ran towards the small village he'd grown up in. The closer he got, the more smoke there was, and the hotter it got. Coughing, he squinted through the smoke to see in front of him. He was nearing the village when he was forced to stop as the edge of the forest was on fire. Spinning sharply on his heel, Luffy ran to the left to try and find an opening he could get through.

The smoke was stinging his eyes and making it harder to breathe. He wished Ace were with him, but his big brother had left half a year ago to become a pirate. Gramps had been so mad. His training had been worse than ever when he'd found out Ace was gone.

Pushing his brother from his mind, Luffy saw a small opening in the flaming trees and didn't hesitate to throw himself through it. The heat was almost unbearable, but he didn't care. He needed to make sure Makino and the other villagers were alright.

Stumbling when the smoke was too bad to keep his eyes open, Luffy tumbled and bounced the rest of the way out of the forest, coughing as the smoke cleared a little. Rubbing his watering eyes, Luffy squinted before his eyes flew open, the stinging forgotten as he laid his eyes on Windmill Village.

Building were destroyed, and pools of magma littered the ground. The smell of burning flesh reminded Luffy of the Gray Terminal fire, and his eyes watered at the thought of the villagers burning to death. Clenching his teeth, he forced himself up and half ran half stumbled closer to the village. "Makino!" His voice was horse from breathing in the smoke and all the coughing he'd done. "Makino!" He had to find her. He had to make sure she was okay.

"Makino!" He couldn't find anyone. The corpses he saw were too disfigured to be identified. Swallowing down the fear that one of those burnt corpses was Makino, Luffy kept going. The village was small. With most the buildings destroyed, there weren't many places to search. He rounded a corner and froze when he saw what used to be Makino's bar. Now there was nothing left. Only bits and pieces of rubble, still smoking as the magma cooled. This was where he'd been raised. This was where he'd met Shanks. This was where he'd run to hide from his grampa. This was as close to home as Luffy knew, and now it was gone. Destroyed.

When Luffy found whoever did this, they were going to pay. First though, he needed to find Makino and make sure she was alright. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he balled his hands into fists and turned around. The last place to look was the harbor. Making sure his hat was secured on his head, Luffy marched towards the docks. He sped up as he heard voices, hope rising. He made it to the top of the small hill and relief washed over him as he saw Makino and most the other villagers at the bottom. His relief soon turned to a white-hot anger when he saw they were all chained together, a Celestial Dragon standing in front of them, waving a gun around.

"MAKINO!" He watched her head jerk around to stare at him along with everyone else's.

"LUFFY! RUN!" Luffy didn't want to run. He wanted to make these bastards pay for destroying his home and hurting the people he loved. "PLEASE!" Tears were in Makino's eyes, and Luffy felt angrier than ever when the bubble headed bastard hit her. He took a step forward before a hand landed roughly on his shoulder and he was thrown back.

"Get out of here brat!" His eyes widened.

"Dadan? What are you-"

"It doesn't matter! Get out of here! If the marines catch you, they'll either kill you or you'll become a slave!"

Luffy's stomach tightened. "But Makino-"

"There's nothing you can do!" Dadan turned and fixed him with a glare, kicking him towards the burning forest. "Get out of here, now!" He opened his mouth to argue, only for the words to get caught in his throat when a gun went off. He stared as Dadan fell to her knees, blood dripping from her mouth. "R-Run Luffy. Go!"

"I can't leave you here!" Luffy ignored the tears running down his cheeks.

Dadan struggled to her feet before grabbing the front of Luffy's shirt and throwing him as hard as she could towards the burning forest. He hit the ground hard and bounced twice before skidding to a stop. Jumping to his feet, he watched, horrified, as Dadan and the rest of the bandits were swallowed by a wave of magma.

Luffy was rooted to the spot as a large man in a red shirt and white marine coat stopped in front of the spot Dadan and the others had once stood, a look of distain on his face. Luffy shivered when the man looked at him. His heart was pounding, and he knew he should run, but his legs wouldn't listen. Hearing a branch snap behind him, he whirled around. For the first time, Luffy was happy to see his grampa.

"Grampa! You have to help Maki-" He never got to finish, as his grampa's fist collided with his stomach so hard he was sent flying all the way back into the rubble of one of the destroyed buildings. His head was spinning and Luffy felt like throwing up everything he'd eaten. He coughed and tried to sit up, wondering what was going on. Gramps had  _never_  hit him  _that_  hard before. He struggled onto his knees, looking up when a shadow fell across him. Luffy shivered. His grampa had never looked as scary as he did right then.

There was none of the normal warmth in his grampa's face, and his eyes were as cold as steel. "I don't have any grandchildren." Luffy swallowed, feeling as though someone had just dumped him into a freezing cold lake. He didn't notice the cuffs in his grampa's hand until one clicked around his left wrist and all his energy was sapped from his body. He didn't understand what was going on. Just earlier his grampa had been laughing and smiling at him while he trained him, but now he was acting like he didn't know Luffy as he dragged him over in front of the bubble headed bastard who'd hit Makino.

"A devil fruit user?" The bubble bastard grinned and Luffy shivered. "Take them all to my ship. If they resist, kill them."

Luffy still hurt from the punch he'd gotten earlier and with the weird cuff thing draining his energy, he couldn't fight as he was dragged onto the ship and thrown to the deck with the rest of the villagers. Coughing in pain, he looked up when someone nudged him and smiled weakly at Makino. He struggled to get onto his knees with his hands cuffed behind his back. Makino helped as much as she could and smiled down at him when he slumped against her.

"Are you alright Luffy?"

"These weird cuffs are making me tired." He looked up at the woman who'd raised him and felt rage building up again when he saw the bruise on her cheek. They'd hurt Makino, and they'd  _killed_  Dadan and the other bandits. Luffy felt his eyes start to burn as he tried to hold back the tears. He refused to let the bubble bastard see him cry.

"It's going to be okay Luffy."

"Shut up!" Luffy glared at the marine who'd yelled at them. Grampa had always told him that the marines were the good guys, and that he'd protect them. Yet here they were. The marines had killed innocent people, and his grampa hadn't hesitated to hand him over to the bubble bastard who'd shot Dadan. He always told them to call him grandpa, but now he was claiming he didn't have any grandsons. Luffy didn't understand. His head hurt from trying to think about it, and his stomach still hurt from where his grampa had hit him. His throat was burning from the smoke he'd inhaled and from trying to hold back his tears. He hated this.

Glaring up at the old man who refused to look at him, Luffy couldn't contain his rage. "WHY AREN'T YOU DOING ANYTHING?! WHY ARE YOU JUST STANDING THERE?! YOU ALWAYS TOLD ME THE MARINES WERE THE GOOD GUYS! YOU SAID THEY PROTECT INNOCENT PEOPLE!"

"Luffy! Calm down! Please!"

He ignored Makino and struggled to his feet, tears falling. "WERE YOU LYING TO ME?! WAS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED TO TURN ME INTO?! A COWARD WHO STANDS BY AS INNOCENT PEOPLE ARE KILLED AND TAKEN AWAY?! IS YOUR JOB MORE IMPORTANT TO YOU THAN THE PROMISES YOU MADE TO ME?! MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR FAMILY?!" Luffy didn't even see the punch coming. He crashed against the side of the boat and the world went dark for a moment.

He blinked up at the figure above him, trying to make everything stop spinning. "I haven't had a family since my wife died. If I  _did_  have a grandson, they wouldn't be a weakling like you." Luffy felt his heart shatter. He didn't understand why this was happening. He wanted this to be a bad dream. He wanted to wake up and have everything go back to normal.

He wanted his big brother. He wanted Ace.

He barely heard Makino yelling through the pounding in his ears, but even through his tears he could see the gun that was pointed in her direction. Staggering to his feet, he stumbled forward on unsteady legs and hurled himself at the bubble bastard, sinking his teeth into the arm that held the gun. He refused to let this bastard kill Makino. He'd taken everything else away from him – Luffy wouldn't let him take her too.

The pounding in his ears turned into a dull roar, drowning out all other noise. Someone grabbed him and threw him back, but Luffy wasn't about to give up. He  _would_  save Makino. He saw her wide eyes, tears running down her cheeks as she yelled something at him, but he couldn't hear her. Luffy felt pain in his chest. He looked down and stared at the red fist that pulling away from him. He looked back up and watched in what seemed slow motion as the bubble bastard once again took aim and fired just as the pain in his chest exploded into something worse than he'd ever felt before. Black spots danced in front of his rapidly fading vision, and the last thing he saw was Makino's body hit the deck before he fell over the side of the ship and into the ocean below.

* * *

**So. Yeah.**

**For anyone wondering about why Garp did what he did...I might explain it in the later chapters, but for now just know he did have his reasons. As for Dadan and the bandits being killed off so fast...it was Akainu. It's one thing for them to go against Bluejam, another entirely to go against an Admiral. And it hurt to kill off Makino, but for the sake of the story it needed to be done. And as for the Celestial Dragon, he was supposed to visit Goa Kingdom again, but wound up in Windmill Village instead and when they didn't show the "proper respect" he decided to make them his slaves and kill anyone who resisted.**

**Let me know what you thought!**


	2. Chapter 2

Shanks smiled down at the box in his hands. It had taken a few years, lots of haggling, and multiple fights with the marines, but he'd finally found a Cameko Den Den Mushi for Makino. She'd told him once that she was sad there was no way for her to capture the time she had with Luffy to save before he grew up and became a pirate. So after his crew had left Dawn Island, Shanks had made it his mission to find an elusive Cameko for her to record pictures of Luffy.

Luffy would probably be leaving to become a pirate in a few years, but at least now she could have a few pictures of him before he did. He wanted to be the one to give it to her, but he'd been under quite a bit of marine scrutiny lately after his last party with the Whitebeard Pirates. If he'd known he'd find the Cameko soon after, he would have held off riling up the marines. As it was, he was going to have to call in a favor to get someone to deliver the present for him.

He'd already tried Mihawk, but the guy had blown him off before he'd even heard the request. He could send one of his crew, but he didn't want to risk the chance of them being followed of caught. He could get it on a merchant ship, but there were no guarantees it'd make it there before Luffy left – if it made it there at all. It wasn't as though there were a lot of merchants traveling between the East Blue and the Grand Line.

That left one person Shanks could count on to sail under the marine's radar to get the present to Makino.

* * *

Rayleigh yawned as he sailed towards Dawn Island. He'd originally been against delivering Shank's gift, but the brat had gotten Shakky on his side. She'd confiscated all his alcohol and refused to give it back until he'd agreed. So now he was stuck as a delivery man.

At the very least he figured he'd be able to meet the kid Shanks was always going on about – the one he'd left Rodgers had with and given his arm to save. Rayleigh would have to see for himself if the kid deserved to keep the hat and had been worth saving.

Stretching out in his small boat, he figured there were worse ways to spend a month than being out at sea. He had to admit he'd missed it. He loved Shakky, and would never sail under another captain, but he missed the feeling of being out on the open sea. Maybe once he was done playing delivery man he'd revisit some of the islands from his days as Rodger's first mate. He was sure Shakky wouldn't mind. He might even be able to convince her to go with him once he got back. Sort of a small vacation from running the bar.

He trailed off on that thought when he caught the stench of ash and burnt flesh. He sat up and frowned at the island in the distance. Double checking his heading, Rayleigh wondered if he'd be able to deliver the gift, or if he'd have to return it to Shanks along with some bad news. The closer he got the island, the more he believed it'd be the latter. He could see smoke still rising from the village, meaning whatever had happened had been recent.

Taking out an ore and paddling the rest of the way to shore, he took just enough time to haul his boat to shore so it wouldn't drift off before running towards the village. If it was recent, there might be some survivors. Maybe even the woman Shank's had gotten the gift for.

All thoughts of finding survivors left his head when he saw the destruction. When he noticed the dried magma, he knew there was nobody left alive. If Akainu was behind the destruction, he wouldn't have left until he'd made sure everyone was dead.

That left Rayleigh with the question as to  _why_  Akainu had been there in the first place. From what Shanks had said, Windmill Village was a peaceful little town that didn't get many visitors except a few merchants. There would have been no reason for the admiral to destroy it. Especially since Shanks had told him the island was under Garp's protection. So what had happened?

Rayleigh used his Observation Haki to search for anyone still alive, on the off chance he was wrong and Akainu had missed someone. There was nobody in the town, and there were no animals anywhere nearby in the forest. He frowned when something caught his attention down at the beach a few miles from the harbor. It was faint, and he could barely feel it, but it was a presence. Someone was still alive. Barely. Even as he ran Rayleigh could feel it starting to slip away little by little.

Sliding onto the sand where the presence was, Rayleigh's eyes zeroed in on a small form lying half on the sand, half in the ocean. They were on their stomach, head turned away, and hands cuffed behind their back. Their clothing was torn and the sand beneath them was dyed red with blood. Rayleigh's eyes widened at the sight of an old, worn straw hat lying against their back, held there by a string around the neck.

Telling Shanks the woman he was crushing on had died was one thing. Telling him the child he utterly adored and always sang praises about had died…that would break the man in a way Rayleigh wasn't sure he'd fully recover from.

Running forward, he fell to his knees beside the boy and grimaced at the seastone cuffs. Regular cuffs were one thing, but seastone cuffs were harder than diamond. Even if he used Haki he wouldn't be able to break them. He had lockpicks on him, a habit he'd never dropped after retiring from a life of piracy, and he could coat them in Haki to keep them from breaking, but the boy needed a doctor. Rayleigh knew first aid, but with the amount of blood on the sand, and with how fast the kid was slipping, first aid wouldn't be enough.

"One thing at a time," Rayleigh muttered to himself, pulling the kid all the way onto the sand and out of reach of the water. He brought out his lockpicks and quickly coated the ones in his hands with Haki before getting to work on the cuffs. It took him longer than he liked, but once he heard the cuffs click open, he tossed them away and quickly turned the kid over.

Seeing the mess of burnt flesh that was the kid's chest, he tore off his own shirt before pressing it against the wound. The boy – Luffy, Shanks had called him – let out a groan of pain. Rayleigh smiled without humor. "Sorry kid, but if I let you die that brat will never forgive me. Now come on. I need you to stay alive until I can get you to a doctor."

He didn't give Luffy any time to respond, sweeping him up and running towards the large cluster of people he could feel across the island. He took the most direct route through the forest, using his Conquerors Haki to keep any animals from attacking. He didn't have time to fight them off. He could feel Luffy slipping as he neared what appeared to be a dump. "Come on kid, stay with me. You aren't gonna die before you even become a pirate, are you? Didn't you make a promise with Shanks?"

Saying Shanks's name seemed to be the right motivator, as Rayleigh felt the kid start fighting. He couldn't help but grin. The boy was stubborn, if nothing else.

He ignored the guards at the gate, knocking them out with a burst of Conquerors Haki before running to the nearest person. "I need a doctor." The man stared up at him with wide eyes, looking from him to the guards and back again. Rayleigh didn't have time for this. Shoving the man against the building behind him, he demanded, "Tell me where I can find a doctor.  _Now_." He put just enough Conquerors Haki behind his words to make the man tremble, but not enough to knock him out. Once a shaky finger was pointed in the right direction, Rayleigh dropped him and ran off.

He kept a close eye out for any buildings that looked to have a doctor, breaking down the door once he saw one rather than take the time to open it. The woman inside jumped and whirled around. She looked ready to yell at him before her eyes caught sight of Luffy in his arms. Mouth snapping shut, she dropped what she held and ran to open a door in the back. "Bring him in and set him on the table." Rayleigh was glad she was the type to act first and ask questions later.

He quickly laid Luffy on the table and kept pressure on the wound until the woman all but shoved him out of the way and got to work. Rayleigh kept out of her way, but close enough to help if she needed it. He didn't move as she worked, not wanting to be a distraction. He kept focus on Luffy, silently willing the boy to make it through. He was honestly surprised that Luffy was still holding on. With a hole in his chest, seastone cuffs on his wrists, and lying half in the ocean, anyone else would have been dead long ago.

He was cut off from his musings when the doctor yelled at him to fetch more water and then  _'get his ass over here and be useful if he wanted the kid to live'_. After that, things passed in a blur. He was sure Luffy was going to die a few times, but whether by his will to stay alive or the doctor's expertise, the boy was still clinging to life as the woman finished wrapping him in bandages. When she was satisfied with her work and that the machines helping the boy stay alive were still in place, she turned to Rayleigh.

"He's gonna stay here until he's stable, but once he's off the machines and not about to die you two are out of here so I have room for other patients. The only time I want to see either of you back here after that is for checkups."

Rayleigh nodded with a raised eyebrow. "You get that many patients he can't even stay until he's fully healed?"

The woman scowled. "You haven't been on the island that long." It wasn't a question. "Those bastards up in High Town sometimes get the bright idea to kill off as many of us down here as they can so their city can stay  _'clean'_. Sometimes it's a few idiots who try and break in there to see what it's like or steal from the stuck up nobles, but about seven or so years ago they burned the dump you see outside and killed anyone still alive afterwards. Tried to do it again recently until their plans were cancelled."

Rayleigh frowned. "What do you mean their plans were cancelled?"

The doctor snorted. "There was supposed to be another visit from one of those Celestial Dragons, but for whatever reason they decided not to come." Rayleigh had a feeling he knew why. It would explain why Akainu was on the island as well as those seastone cuffs. The Celestial Dragon had shown up at Windmill Village. Anyone who wasn't dead had probably been taken as slaves. He wondered if the woman was still alive. If so, maybe he could give the brat a heads up and he could be her knight in shining armor and save her from a life of slavery.

For now though, he'd wait until the kid woke up before he left. Better to get as much information as he could before letting the brat know what happened here.

Blinking when a piece of paper was slammed onto the table in front of him, he looked back up at the doctor. "Your fee for the kid's treatment and for the door you broke. If you don't have it, then I don't care how you get it, but I want it before I kick you two out."

Rayleigh's lips tugged up in an easy smile. "What happens if I don't pay?"

The doctor folded her arms. "Then I take everything you  _do_  have, and you work for me without pay until your debt is settled. You skip out, you and the boy can forget about getting treatment here again. Doesn't matter how bad you're hurt – I have other patients who  _can_  and  _will_  pay."

"Most doctors I've met never turn away a patient."

She wasn't swayed. "I'm the only doctor for everyone on this island except those bastards up in High Town and that tiny village on the other side. I learned the hard way I can't treat everyone, and those who skip out on the bill once always do so again."

Rayleigh didn't argue. "You'll have your money by the time we're gone." She nodded once before turning and heading back to the front. Glancing back at Luffy, he stretched his arms above his head. "Well kid, looks like I need to go find some generous donors to help us out. Maybe some of those High Town bastards will have a change of heart."

* * *

Three weeks after he'd brought Luffy to the doctors, Rayleigh was standing to the side as the kid finished the last of the empty graves he'd dug. Standing up, Luffy gently placed his hand on the large rock he'd put up as the gravestone – the names of all those he knew were dead written on with paint he'd salvaged from one of the ruined buildings. "I'm sorry. I was too weak to save you." Luffy took the straw hat from where it was resting nearby and placed it on top of the empty grave, burying the rim to keep it from blowing away.

"I need you to watch over this for me. I'm not strong enough to wear it yet, but I'm going to train as hard as I can and get stronger, and stronger, and stronger, and stronger until I can protect the people I care about. I promise."

Rayleigh couldn't help but smile. He'd have to call Shakky later and let her know he wouldn't be home for a while.

* * *

**So Luffy lived, and is getting his 2 year training early. I don't think I'm going to go through everything in this AU - at least not in a lot of detail. We'll see though. I honestly started this with one specific scene in mind, and I have no idea where I'm going after that. So we'll see where this story goes. Let me know what you thought.**


	3. Chapter 3

Luffy stared at the straw hat in his hands. He remembered when Shanks gave it to him, and all the adventures he’d had since. He remembered Makino, and the rest of the villagers. He remembered the promise he’d made two years ago. Closing his eyes, he brought the hat to his chest and thought of those who’d perished two years ago. “I’ve trained every day for the past year. I got stronger. I’m not sure if I’m strong enough yet, but I’ll keep training every day and getting stronger.” Opening his eyes again, he turned to look at the sea. “I’m going to leave here. I’m going to find a crew and keep my promise to Shanks.” Slowly putting the straw hat onto his head, he kept his head down so the brim shadowed his eyes. “I’m going to find the bastard who destroyed this place. I’m going to find him and make him pay for what he did.” He raised his head, eyes determined. “I promise.”

He strode forward, making his way to the small boat waiting at the dock. He’d stocked it with everything he could need yesterday. Rayleigh was waiting for him just before the dock. For a brief moment Luffy allowed himself to imagine Makino, the Mayor, Dadan and her Bandits, and the rest of the villagers standing with the older man. Taking a deep breath, he let the image fade before facing the silver haired man.

“Thank you.” Luffy bowed. He would never be able to repay Rayleigh for everything he’d done. From saving him to teaching him to fight, to Haki, and even the basics of fighting with a bo staff. Luffy had originally asked to be trained with a pipe, like he and Ace and Sabo had used when they were kids, but Rayleigh had mentioned a sectioned staff would be easier to carry around and conceal rather than a full-length pipe. He could also get one made of a harder material than a typical pipe, and it would be easier to wield. In the end, Luffy had agreed.

Rayleigh laughed. “Finally leaving this place?” Luffy nodded. “Well then, take this.” The man held out a wrapped package. Luffy opened it and found a new three sectioned staff along with a holder for it. The staff was made out of a heavy material – heavier than the staff he’d been practicing with the past two years. “Maybe you won’t break this one.” Luffy grinned, thinking of Rayleigh’s constant annoyance at having to find a new suitable staff each time he broke his. The silver haired man put a hand on Luffy’s shoulder. “We’ll meet again one day on the Grand Line. Don’t go getting killed before then.”

Luffy fastened his new staff holder around his waist, slotting the segments into their spots, before smiling. “I’m not gonna die before I become the King of the Pirates.” Rayleigh laughed and let go of his shoulder. Luffy undid the rope holding his boat to the dock before jumping in. He pushed himself out towards sea and stared at the island he’d grown up on as he slowly sailed further. He waved to Rayleigh and the image of everyone he’d lost.

His boat nearly capsized as the sea monster that lived off the coast of the island surfaced, forcing him out of the memories he’d been savoring. Glaring at the monster, he forewent the easy route of using haki and pulled out his new staff. He needed to get used to the weight, and he owed the monster a good beating for trying to eat him and taking Shank’s arm all those years ago. He swiftly connected the staff’s segments, his movements fast and precise after two years of doing the same thing every day. Jumping from his little boat – and making sure he didn’t accidently capsize it himself – he gripped the staff in both hands and swung it as hard as he could, the end digging into the monster’s cheek and sending him flying. He glanced down and landed back in the boat, shifting his weight to help stabilize it.

Luffy twirled his new staff experimentally, catching it after the unexpected weight made him drop it, and nodded. He had a lot of work to do before he’d be back to his previous skill level. Turning back to see his island growing steadily small, he waved one last time before letting his hand rest on his hat. “Stronger, stronger, and even  _stronger_ ,” He muttered, “Until I can protect everyone I care about. I promise.”

 

* * *

 

Luffy didn’t want to stay on this island longer than he had to. Just being  _near_  a Marine Base had his blood boiling. He would  _never_  forgive the marines for protecting those  _inhuman monsters_  and killing almost everyone he cared about. All he wanted to do was restock on food and then sail to another island. Currently, he and Colby were at a restaurant. Luffy wanted some freshly cooked meat and Colby wanted to ask about the Marines and who he should talk to in order to join. While he didn’t like the marines, Luffy wouldn’t mock another’s dream.

He was only partly paying attention to what Colby and the woman who owned the place were talking about. It was only when a little girl shouted, “That’s not true!” that he fully tuned into what was being said. He glanced back and saw the little girl glaring up at Colby, carefully holding something against her chest. “Zoro’s not a monster!”

“He’s a ferocious pirate hunter! The marines probably had a good reason for locking him up!”

“They only locked him up because he helped us! That stupid Helmeppo was destroying our restaurant! Everyone lets him get away with it because his dad is the marine captain!” She didn’t wait to hear was Colby would say next, simply running out of the restaurant.

The pink haired boy turned to the woman behind the bar. “Is that true?”

The woman sighed sadly. “I’m afraid it is.” She looked pleadingly at Colby, then to him. “Would you two mind going after her? She’s probably going to see Zoro, and I’m afraid she’ll get into trouble.” Luffy didn’t want to, as that meant going to the base he wanted to avoid, but he’d be damned if he let a little girl get hurt while he sat around and did nothing. He’d watched the marines kill enough innocent people in his life. He wasn’t about to let them kill one more.

Standing, he thanked the woman for the meal and casually strode out of the building. Colby was behind him, fretting about the little girl and wondering aloud if they’d really hurt her. He didn’t bother to answer the pink haired boy, knowing full well that there were marines who didn’t bat an eye at killing children like her. From the little he’d heard about this base and their captain, he didn’t doubt the man would kill her.

It didn’t take them long to reach the marine base. Luffy spotted a ladder against the wall and could sense two presences on the other side – one that was likely the girl’s, and another that was weak. Probably a prisoners. He’d wager a guess it was this  _‘Zoro’_  person the girl’s mother had said her daughter was going to see.

Scaling the ladder, Luffy watched as the girl offered rice balls to a green haired man tied to a pole. Colby came up beside him and gasped. Luffy grasped the back of his shirt before the boy could fall. “T-T-T-That’s him! Roronoa Zoro! The legendary pirate hunter!”

Luffy grinned a little as he watched the  _legendary pirate hunter_  try and get the little girl to go back before she got into trouble. He could hear the green haired man’s stomach growling from over here. He barely spared a glance to the new presences heading closer. They were weak. Even this Zoro was stronger than them, and he was starved and exhausted.

“Roronoa Zoro! Don’t pick on little kids!” Luffy scowled. This guy’s voice grated on his ears. It was high pitched and annoying, reminding him of those assholes in high town. Colby sighed in relief, muttering something about marines keeping the girl safe. He wondered if the pink haired boy even  _heard_  what he’d been told about the marine assholes.

Zoro clicked his tongue in annoyance. “If it isn’t the lieutenant’s bastard son.”

“Bastard? Don’t get cocky! My dad is a marine lieutenant!” Turning his attention to the little girl, he snatched one of her rice balls. “These rice balls look pretty tasty.”

“Stop it! Those aren’t for you!” The bastard ignored the girl and took a bite, his face screwing up in disgust before spitting it out.

“You put in  _sugar_! You’re supposed to put  _salt_  in them!”

“B-But I thought…they’d taste better if they were sweet.”

The bastard threw the rest of the rice ball he’d taken to the ground, knocking the others the girl had out of her hands before stomping them into the dirt. “How could someone eat something like this?!”

Colby was shaking next to him. “T-That’s so cruel! That girl worked so hard to make them!”

Luffy watched in silence as the little girl started crying. The asshole huffed in annoyance. “It’s your fault. See this sign?  _‘Anyone who helps a prisoner will be charged with the same crime. Marine lieutenant Morgan.’_  You know how scary my dad can be, right? You would’ve gotten the death penalty if you’re a grown up!” He turned to the marine with him. “Throw the brat out.” When the man hesitated, the bastard grabbed the front of his uniform. “I said throw her  _out_! Are you going to disobey me?! I’ll tell my dad!”

Luffy had seen enough. Jumping onto the top of the wall, he pushed off hard enough to leave a crack. He landed on top of the marine about to grab the little girl, plowing him into the ground. The bastard who’d ordered her to be thrown over shrieked, falling onto his ass. Luffy glared at him before he could open his mouth. He supposed the asshole had  _some_  sense of self preservation, since his mouth snapped closed.

Turning to the girl, he pointed towards where Colby was still on the ladder. “Go on. Your mother’s worried about you.”

“B-B-But my rice balls.”

He grinned and picked the ball of mud that used to be the rice balls off the ground. He didn’t hesitate to stuff it all in his mouth, swallowing it even as the girl’s eyes went wide and she protested. “Thank you for the food!” He crouched down so he was in front of her and laughed. “Since I ate these, you’ll have to make new ones for this guy.” He pointed towards Zoro. “If you do, I’ll bring them myself so you won’t get into trouble again. Okay?”

The girl looked close to crying. “R-Really?”

He nodded. “I promise.” He waited until the girl nodded and ran off towards Colby before he stood up and turned towards Zoro. He grinned and laughed at the dumbstruck look on the man’s face. “I’m looking for people to join my pirate crew.”

That seemed to snap the green haired male out of it. He scowled. “Pirate? So you just gave up on life and became a pirate?”

Luffy frowned. “It’s my dream! There’s nothing wrong with being a pirate!”

Zoro snorted but didn’t say anything. He jerked his chin toward the asshole still cowering on the ground. “I made a deal with that guy. If I can survive for a month, he promised to let me go. I have one week left.”

“And after that you’ll join me?”

Zoro grinned. “No. I have something I need to take care of. I’m going to do everything I can to stay alive and fulfill my dreams! Go find someone else to join you!”

Luffy grinned. He liked this man. Turning, he waved as he headed back towards the wall. “I’ll be back later with those rice balls.” He looked back with a grin. “You’d better eat them all.”

* * *

 

**Okay, so a couple things.**

**1) Originally, I wasn't planning on having Luffy use a weapon of any kind. But I read a story where he used a bo staff and it must have stuck in my mind because Luffy _demanded_  one. I tried to have him use haki for the sea king, but Luffy refused. He didn't want to take the easy way out. He wanted to punch the thing because it took Shank's arm.**

**2) I'm trying to keep it fairly close to canon, but Luffy didn't want to wait as Rika was tossed over the wall. It didn't matter if he could have caught her. As for him eating the rice balls...idk. I wasn't going to, but Luffy just ate them. He's a little nicer here (not that he wasn't in canon). So yeah, Luffy's running this story and doesn't care what I think or want to happen.**

**3) I'm going to _try_  and make it so Luffy isn't overpowered, but he will be for the East Blue. There's no way around that. Hopefully it'll get better as we get into the Grand Line, but we'll see. I'm trying to keep him as normal as I can, but he also watched basically everyone he cared about die, so he's gonna be at least a little different.**

**4) Someone asked for Garp's POV. I am planning on doing it, but not until later.**

**So, there's the new chapter. I was going to make it longer, but Luffy was done for this chapter. Again, the little shit does what he wants to. Let me know what you thought!**

**And I also have _another_  idea for a OP story, so you amy or may not see one popping up here at some point. I'm going to try and get a little further in this story before I start on it. For those wondering about Lost Pirates, I am still working on it, but currently my motivation is with this story. Thanks to a review I got, I now have an idea for what I want to do in the next chapter of LP, so you can (hopefully) see a new chapter for that before the end of the year (hopefully).**

**Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

Luffy watched as Zoro gobbled down the rice balls. While the man's stomach was still grumbling at the end, it wasn't as loud as it had been. "Tell that little girl, the rice balls taste very good. Thank you very much."

Grinning, Luffy sat in front of the captive. "You sure you don't wanna join my crew?"

"I told you. I have things that I need to do. Besides, I'm not going to be a bad guy like a pirate."

Luffy leaned back on his hands. "A lot of people seem to think you're a bad guy already."

"I don't care what they think! I've never done one thing that I regretted in the past, and it will be the same for the future! I'm not gonna be a pirate."

"Hmm. So is it true you're a swordsman?"

"Yeah. My sword is my greatest treasure, next to my life."

Luffy glanced around, one eyebrow raised. "If it's that important, where is it?"

Zoro scowled. "That bastard kid took it."

"Want me to get it back?"

The green haired man gave him an assessing look before shaking his head. "I'll get it back when they release me." He gave a crooked smile. "You're a pirate. How can I trust you?" Luffy laughed. He didn't get a chance to respond, as Coby jumped from the top of the wall and ran over to him.

"Luffy! We have to get Zoro out of here!" He bent over, resting his hands on his knees while trying to get his breath back. "T-They going to execute Zoro!" The pink haired boy had angry tears in his eyes. "That Helmeppo never planned on keeping his promise!"

Luffy slowly stood up, dusting off his pants as Coby got to work on the ropes. "That  _bastard_." Luffy felt the rage boiling up inside.

Zoro grunted as he tried to pull on the ropes to get free. "What're  _you_  so angry about?  _I'm_  the one going to be executed."

"A promise is something you only make when you're willing to  _die_  to see it through."

* * *

Zoro felt cold sweat roll down the back of his neck. The aura this  _kid_  was giving off was terrifying. He couldn't say anything as the kid turned and walked away, shoulders tense and fists clenched tightly. Only when the kid was gone from sight did Zoro let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. Eyes wide and crooked smile on his face, he asked, "Who  _is_  he?"

"Luffy…" Zorro had forgotten the pink haired kid was still here.

"Hey, hurry up and untie me already!"

The kid jumped and got back to trying to undo the ropes. "I…I want to become a marine, but I'm going to be a  _good_  marine. Not like the ones here who terrorize innocent people. I can't stand those kind of marines! I'm going to become a  _real_  marine! Just like Luffy is determined to become the pirate king!"

"Pirate King?!" Zoro thought back to the terrifying aura the kid – Luffy – had earlier. He had no doubt in his mind that Luffy was serious. His eyes widened when the pink haired kid suddenly fell backwards, blood spurting from his shoulder. Turning his head, he glared at where the shot had originated from.

"AHHHHHHH! I'VE BEEN SHOT! BLEEDING! I'M BLEEDING! I'M GONNA DIE!"

Sighing, Zoro asked, "Are you alright?" He turned back towards the base, spotting multiple marines headed their way. "Run for your life. They're almost here."

"No! I…I've got to set you free as soon as possible!" The kid slowly sat up, face a mixture of pain and determination. "Luffy…Luffy is strong. I won't tell you to be a pirate, but if you work with him then both of you can leave town before the marines execute you both!"

"That's enough!" Zoro grit his teeth and glared at the marines pointing guns at them. "The two of you who have betrayed Captain Morgan! Die here!"

"Roronoa Zoro." Said man turned to the marine captain walking closer. "I've heard of your name from a long time ago, but don't underestimate me. Before my great strength, you're garbage! READY!"

Zoro's eyes widened.  _'I can't die here! I still have things I need to settle! Because I made a promise!_ ' He thought of Kuina.  _'I made a **promise**! I cannot die here!'_

"FIRE!" Zoro strained against the ropes one more time, teeth creaking with how hard he was clenching his jaw. Time seemed to slow as the men started to pull the triggers.  _'You're **weak**  Zoro.' 'One of us will be the greatest swordsman in the world!' 'I promise! I'll become the greatest swordsman in the world! So famous that even heaven will hear of my great name!' 'I  **cannot**  die here!'_

An intense pressure, similar to what he'd felt earlier from Luffy, washed over him. He felt himself freeze and watched as all the marines pointing a gun at him dropped into a dead faint. The only one left standing was the asshole with a metal jaw. "I  _hate_  marines." Zoro's head jerked towards the quiet voice, spotting Luffy slowly walking towards them. " _Especially_  marines like you who go back on their word and hurt innocent people." The boy threw whatever he was dragging towards the captain. Zoro barely recognized the bastard's son. He wasn't even sure if the guy was still alive.

The bastard with the iron jaw didn't even bother to spare a glance for his son. Luffy didn't seem to care about the angry tick growing on the marine's face. Zoro kept one eye on the angry captain, the other watching as Luffy came towards him. The straw hat the kid wore shadowed his eyes from view. Luffy didn't stop until he was in front of Zoro. He silently held out Zoro's three swords. "Which one is yours?"

"They all are. I use three sword style."

Luffy nodded. "I'm not going to let them kill you after they promised to let you go, but if I free you and you go against them, they'll label you as an outlaw."

Zoro grinned. "And I suppose I'll have to join your crew?"

Luffy raised his head and laughed. "I want you to join, but I'll still keep them from killing you even if you don't."

"Why?"

Luffy's face lost it's smile and he gave Zoro a serious look. "Because they made you a promise, and when you make a promise to someone, you should be prepared to  _die_  to see it through."

Zoro gave the boy in front of him a long look before grinning again. "Outlaw or not, I plan on becoming the world greatest swordsman! I'll make my name known worldwide! That is my goal. If I'm to be labeled an outlaw then I might as well join up with you. However! If you do  _anything_  that gets in the way of my goal, I will have you cut your stomach open to say sorry!"

Luffy smiled. "Worlds greatest swordsman! Since you wanna be the Pirate King's crew members, if you can't even accomplish something that small, then I would be very embarrassed as well!" Pulling out one of Zoro's blades, Luffy carefully cut the ropes before handing the blades over.

"How  _dare_  you oppose me." Zoro turned to the captain, having forgotten the bastard was still here. He felt better now that his swords were back at his waist and gripped the Wado Ichimonji, preparing for a fight. "I AM MARINE CAPTAIN AXE-HAND MORGAN!"

Zoro took a step forward, ready to show his skills. Even weak from hunger he knew he could defeat this sorry excuse for a marine. He didn't get a chance to though, as his new captain was suddenly in front of the screaming marine, fist pulled back. Zoro's eyes widened as he watched Luffy punch the bastard hard enough to send him crashing back into the marine base. There was no way the marine was getting back up after a hit like that. Luffy stood up and turned back to Zoro, a large smile on his face. "I'm hungry! Let's go eat!"

Zoro slowly let go of his sword. He laughed a little, sweat sliding down the back of his neck at the display of power. "Yeah." He had a lot of questions for his new captain and was a little disappointed he didn't get to take down some of the marines who'd tried to kill him, but for now food sounded like a good idea.

He followed Luffy out of the base, briefly wondering why he felt like they were forgetting something before deciding if it was important he'd remember later. Zoro barely paid attention to the people cowering at the sight of him. He was used to this. When they made it to the restaurant, the little girl who'd made him the rice balls lit up. "I'm so happy you're alright! That mean Helmeppo said he was gonna execute you! Did he let you go?"

Luffy sat at a table and laughed. "I kicked his ass."

Zoro sat next to him, grimacing at the feeling. The bastard son had refused him even the basic curtesy of a bathroom while he'd been tied up. He needed a shower and fresh clothes soon. He hoped the woman who ran this place had kept his bag. The little girl's mother seemed frightened. "What if captain Morgan comes after you?!"

Luffy turned his grin to her. "That stupid axe guy? I kicked his ass too."

Zoro snorted. "Punched him straight through the base."

The woman put her hands over her mouth. "Y-You…defeated captain Morgan?"

Luffy giggled. Zoro had never met a pirate who  _giggled_  before. "Yup!"

The woman looked close to crying. Before she could start, Zoro asked, "Hey, do you still have the bag I left here?"

It was the little girl who answered. "Yeah! I kept it safe for you!" She ran off, probably to get it, before he could ask. It only took half a minute before she came back with his bag in her hands. "Here you go!"

"Thanks kid." He turned towards the kid's mother again. "Sorry to ask, but do you have a shower I could borrow?"

"And food!" Luffy happily banged a fork and knife together. "Lots of food!"

The woman took a few seconds to compose herself before smiling at them. "I'll start preparing some food right away. There's a shower you can use upstairs. Rika can show you where it is."

Zoro nodded and stood up, grabbing his bag. "I appreciate it."

"It's the least we could do after you saved Rika from Helmeppo's wolf and freed us from Morgan." Zoro started to correct her, only for Rika to grab his hand and pull him towards the door behind the bar. He listened with half an ear to Rika's ramblings as he followed her. She pointed towards a door on her right and told him he was free to use the soap if he needed some.

Showing had never felt so good as it did then. He could probably save his shirt, his haramaki, and his shoes, but his pants and underwear were goners. He'd have to find another pair somewhere. He was glad he had one extra pair in his bag. Once he was showered and dressed, his dirty clothes either stuffed into his bag to be washed later or tied up in a trash bag to be tossed, he made his way back downstairs.

Luffy was already digging into a pile of food laid out on the table, and Zoro thanked the woman before happily joining in. Everything tasted so good. He didn't hold back, eating as much as he could until he couldn't eat another bite. Relaxing into the chair, he grinned at the tankard of booze and raised it towards the owner in thanks before tipping it back. He let out a happy sigh once it was empty.

He turned towards his new captain, eyebrows raised at the fact the kid was  _still_  eating. "So Luffy. What's the plan?"

Luffy grinned widely. "We're headed straight for the Grand Line!"

" _What?!"_  Zoro blinked at the sudden appearance of the pink haired kid. How long had he been there? "You're saying crazy things again! Just you two, how can you enter the grand line?! Don't you understand? The world's strongest pirates all gather there!"

Zoro smirked. "We're going for the one piece. Won't hurt to head in that direction."

"Even you?!"

"What're  _you_  so worried about? It's not like you're coming with us."

The kid slammed his hands onto the table. "I'll still worry! I may have just met Luffy but…but we're still friends!"

Luffy giggled again. It was going to take Zoro a bit of getting used to. "Yup! Even though we're parting here, we'll always be friends!"

The kid lit up. "I…I never had friends growing up, but you two…you taught me to live by my dream!"

Luffy nodded. "That's why we're going to the grand line."

"I guess." The kid shook his head rapidly. "No! No! What I meant is that you're too reckless!"

Zoro tapped the hilt of his sword on the pink haired kid's forehead. "Worry about yourself first. Even though you were just doing chores on a pirate ship, you were still a pirate. Don't underestimate the marine's ability to gather information. If they know your past, the won't let you join for sure."

Luffy stood up and turned to the owner of the restaurant. "Thanks for the food! And for the provisions." Zoro stood up, sensing his captain was ready to leave. "We're gonna head out before the marines come after us for beating up that axe guy." He followed Luffy out of the restaurant and towards the docks.

The pink haired kid ran after them and yelled a goodbye, promising he'd meet up with them again when he was a strong marine. Zoro caught sight of a bunch of marines running towards the docks as Luffy pushed off and spread the sail. He wondered if his captain knew they were coming somehow or if it was just luck that had them leaving before the marines showed up. He glanced towards Luffy and added it to the things he wanted to ask about. Stretching out, he yawned and closed his eyes. First though, he needed a nap.

* * *

**So yeah, Luffy didn't get to have his scene with Coby, but he also wasn't caught with them. And his conviction to become a marine got him a job as a new recruit. Helmeppo isn't dead, just really beat up. Luffy is avoiding the marines for multiple reasons.**

**1) He's a pirate.**  
2) He doesn't like them because they're the ones who destroyed his hometown (on orders from the world noble's)  
3) They think he's dead (Rayleigh was the one who beat it into his head that on the small chance the world noble who was there or the marines remember him they could come after him and his crew)  


**Luffy doesn't want to kill every marine he runs into. He _does_  know that there are bad pirates out there and the marines  _do_  protect innocent people, but that doesn't mean he likes them.**

**And you can't tell me that they'd leave a prisoner to starve out in the open for a month and be kind enough to let him use the bathroom. And as often as everyone's clothes get torn during a battle, you can't tell me they don't carry around at least _one_  extra pair. And like I said before, Luffy will be OP until somewhere in the Grand Line.**

**Now, I'll touch on this more in the AN for the next chapter, but I wanna say something about Haki really fast. I've been rewatching/re-reading One Piece, and while we get glimpses of Haoshoku Haki and Kenbunshoku Haki throughout the series (Shanks with the Haoshoku in the beginning and they way everyone can at least slightly dodge some attacks that would kill them - I know it's not supposed to be Kenbunshoku Haki, but I'm thinking it's a small glimpse of the unawakened form of it because the attacks should have killed them but they managed to avoid them) we see _nothing_ about Busoshoku Haki until Sabaody. It's like it was just invented then. The closest thing would be CP9's Iron Body. So, when we get to the Grand Line and when people who  _should_  at least know it are brought in, I'm going to change their skill set a bit to better fit. It'll also help to make Luffy less OP.**

**But added to that, I myself don't really understand much about Haki and how to awaken it except for what I can find online (the anime doesn't really show much of it and I'm just not getting into reading the manga (which is where a lot of the dialogue in here comes from actually) except for the small flashback we get of Luffy's training, and that only shows Kenbunshoku Haki) so I'm going to take a few liberties when it comes to how they train it and activate it.**

**Next chapter will probably be the longest one yet, but let me say that a lot of it will come from the manga. The main things that you'll see that are different are the fighting and how Luffy reacts to some situations.**

**But that's enough out of me. Don't forget to let me know what you thought!**

**~Akirafanatic**


	5. Chapter 5

"It's funny that you have absolutely no navigation skills."

Luffy blinked. "Why? I've always been just wandering. You're like me too, wandering and capturing hunted pirates for rewards."

Zoro leaned his head against his hand. "I don't remember me saying that I live completely off rewards. I was searching for a man, that's why I left to the sea, but now I can't find my way home. I had no choice but to start hunting pirates for a living, just to get a little bit for the living expenses."

"Oh, so you're lost."

"SHUT UP! You're the one who's lost!" He sighed and leaned back again. "Never heard of pirates who don't know how to navigate. How do you expect to go to the grand line like this? You should hurry and find a navigator."

Luffy smiled. "Yeah, and a cook and a musician!"

Zoro shook his head. "I've been meaning to ask. Back at the marine base, what did you do?"

Luffy tilted his head in confusion. "What?"

"Right before they shot at me, all the marines fainted."

"Oh! That was haki."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Haki? Never heard of it."

"It's a  _mystery_  power! I can also do this!" Zoro watched as Luffy held up an arm, eyes widening when the appendage turned black. Giggling again, he held it out. "Try and cut it."

"What? No! I'll cut your arm off!"

"No you won't."

"Are you insane?!"

"Come on, just do it already!"

Frowning, Zoro pulled out one of his swords and gave a halfhearted swing – hard enough to seem like he was trying but light enough he wouldn't cut the kid's arm off. Even though Luffy said he wouldn't be able to cut it, having his sword meet something solid surprised him. "What the-?!" Sure enough, his sword couldn't penetrate whatever the black substance was. Sheathing his sword, Zoro let out a bark of stunned laughter. "So this haki thing can knock people out and create this armor stuff?"

Luffy nodded. "It can also tell you where people are and what their next attack will be!"

Zoro thought back to their close escape from the marines. "So you knew the marines were headed our way?"

"Yup!"

Zoro rested his head in his hands again. "So how'd you wind up with this  _'mysterious power'_?"

"I trained."

Zoro waited for more, but nothing came. "That's it? You trained?"

"Well yeah. Old man Rayleigh taught me how."

Zoro pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache start to form. He was winding up with more questions than answers. "If you trained to get this  _haki_ , then anyone could use it, right?"

Luffy shrugged. "I guess. Except for the making people faint, Rayleigh said you had to be born with that."

Letting out a sigh, Zoro crossed his legs. "Alright. Think you can teach me?" He didn't like the grin on Luffy's face, but this haki sounded like it could help make him stronger. If he was going to become the strongest swordsman in the world, he had to do whatever it took to get stronger.

* * *

"Oww," Luffy rubbed his head more out of habit than any real pain. "Why did they shoot me with the canon?" He stood up and dusted himself off. "Finally landed!" If he saw that damn bird again he'd make sure to eat it.

"Oh  _Boss_! You're finally here! I've been waiting for you to save me!" Luffy turned towards the orange haired girl in confusion. She waved as she turned and ran. "I'll leave everything to you!" Luffy blinked as he stared after her. He had no idea what had just happened.

"She ran off again!"

"We don't have to chase that girl anymore! Her  _Boss_  is still here!"

"That's true! They're together anyways!"

Luffy ducked the sword swinging towards his neck. He glared when the force behind the swing blew his hat off. He punched the guy who'd swung the sword in the face, sending him crashing backwards, before catching his hat and putting it back on his head. "Don't you  _dare_  touch my hat!" This hat was his treasure and symbolized two separate promises he'd made.

"You…"

"Damn you!"

Luffy quickly knocked the two out before turning to the presence on one of the roofs behind him. He found the girl form earlier sitting there. "You're really strong! You those guys with swords bare-handed!"

"So who're you?"

The girl grinned. "I'm a thief who only steals treasure from pirates! My name is Nami. Wanna be partners?"

"Only steals treasure from pirates?"

"Yeah! If we team up we could get a whole lot of money!"

Luffy turned and walked away. "No way. I'm not interested in teaming up with you."

"Hang on a second!" He heard Nami jump down and the click of her heels as she ran over to him. "So what's up with that hat? When you said they nearly damaged it you got so mad! Is it expensive?"

He put a hand on his hat, remembering when Shank's gave it to him. "It's my treasure."

"Treasure? Are there jewels inside it? Or maybe a treasure map?"

"Why would those be in my hat?"

"Because that's what treasure is!"

"There's nothing like that! It's just a hat!"

"Then it it's a treasure!"

"Yes it is! Someone really important to me gave it to me!"

Nami scoffed. "Whatever. So how come you fell from the sky?"

Luffy huffed. "A stupid bird carried me away and then some bastard shot me with a cannonball. Now I have to find a way back to my crew." He stopped when Nami did, watching as she opened the door to one of the houses and followed her inside.

Nami sat on the table and Luffy took one of the chairs. "So you got separated from your crew. How many people are in your crew?"

"Only one. Is this your house?"

"No, I don't even know whose house this is. Everyone in this village is hiding in a shelter outside of the town. They're trying to avoid conflict with the Buggy pirate fleet."

"Hmmm, is he that scary? That pirate called Nami?"

" _I'm_  Nami! The pirate is Buggy!" She glared at him before letting out a small sigh. "About Buggy. He's a famous pirate, known for his love of canons." Luffy was willing to bet he was the bastard that had shot that cannonball at him. "When a bunch of kids from a village where he once stayed made fun of his nose, he used a cannon to wipe out the whole village, and it's said that he's got a really strange power."

Luffy felt the beginnings of anger stir in his gut. Hearing about Buggy wiping out an entire town made him remember when  _his_  village was wiped out. The smell of burning flesh and the screams of the villagers were just as strong and loud as they had been that day.

"You alright?" He turned towards Nami, seeing confusion and a bit of worry in her face. "Buggy is pretty scary, but-"

"It's not that." He clenched his fists and bowed his head slightly. "Just remembered something." Shaking his head and forcing down the memory, he looked back at Nami. "So you're stealing from these empty houses?"

"That's despicable! Didn't I just tell you I only steal from pirates?!" She put a hand to her forehead and sighed. "Don't even compare me with those common house robbers. It's so  _tiring_  talking with you." Luffy laughed, feeling a little better. Ace had said the same thing before. Nami turned towards the window, a determined grin of her face. "My goal is to get a hundred mission beli! Then I'm going to buy a certain village!"

Luffy blinked. "Buy a village? A hundred million beli is a lot, so you have to steal from a lot of pirates…"

"I've got a plan for that!" Nami reached for something under her shirt. She pulled out a piece of paper. "Look! This is the grand line map I just stole! I'm going to steal some treasure from this Buggy buy, then I'm going to go to the grand line. Then I'm going to steal from even greater pirates who carry much more treasure! What do you think? Don't you wanna team up and earn a bunch? You look strong. I could use your power, and then you'll get your share too."

"By any chance, do you know how to navigate?"

"Yeah!" Nami gripped her bicep as she held up a fist. "Of course I know how! Don't look down on me! Navigation skills, well, there aren't a lot of people who know more about it than I do. Especially since I love the sea."

Luffy cheered. "Yeah! That's great! We're also on our way to the grand line!"

Nami leaned forward excitedly. "Really?!"

"Yeah! Hey, you should be our navigator! Be a member of our pirate crew!"

Nami slammed her hands on the table, face angry. "NO WAY!" She stood up and shook her head. "So you're a pirate. Forget it! We didn't have this conversation! I don't wanna team up with you." She smirked and pointed towards his hat. "I get it. You're going to use that map of yours in your hat to find treasure."

Luffy scowled, putting his hand on his hat. "I told you! This is not a treasure map! I got it a long time ago from a friend! I promised to gather a crew and become a great pirate to the person who gave it to me."

Nami sighed. "Everything's pirate this, pirate that. It's a pathetically sad era." She slammed her hands back on the table. "The things I hate most in this world are  _pirates_! I only like money and tangerines!" Turning, she stormed towards the entrance.

"Come on, be our navigator!"

"You think I'm crazy?! Shut up you dumb pirate!" She turned to walk away again before pausing and turning just enough to glance at him from the corner of her eye. "Well, it looks like you're in a fix, so I'll consider it under one condition."

"Really? Thanks. I am kinda in a fix, but what's the condition?"

She fully turned towards him and held up one finger. "Go with me to where Buggy is. That's all I want you to do."

Luffy was surprised. That was it? He grinned happily and headed towards the door. "Okay, let's go! Where's Buggy anyway?"

"Hang on a second! I've got one more thing to prepare!" Luffy waited while Nami ran off to do whatever preparations she needed to. When she came back, she was holding a bunch of rope. "Now we can go."

He followed her outside, hands in his pockets. "So what's with the rope?"

Nami smiled. "It's just a rope. You got a problem?" The two walked in silence for a while. It was only a minute or two before Nami stopped again. "Just at the end of this road. The bar where the pirates are staying is over there."

Luffy looked at the bar. "What do you wanna do here?"

"That…" Luffy sensed her moving behind him, "…you will find out soon-" He moved aside when she made to tackle him from behind, sending her sprawling to the ground.

"So what are you doing?"

Nami picked herself up and frowned at him. "How did you do that?"

"It's a  _mystery_  power."

She rolled her eyes and held up her rope. "Look. I told some of Buggy's guys that were chasing me that you were my boss. So I was gonna tie you up and pretend to hand you over to Buggy."

Luffy tilted his head and frowned in confusion. "Why?"

"By pretending to turn on my boss and hand you over to Buggy I can infiltrate his crew and steal all his treasure."

"Oh! Why didn't you just  _say_  so?" He held his arms out in front of him. "Here."

Nami stared at him. "You're just going to  _let_  me tie you up?"

"It'll help you get the treasure, right? To buy that village?"

Nami's eyes widened before she narrowed them. "Why do you care? You're just a  _pirate_!"

Luffy grinned. "You said if I came with you then you'd be our navigator!"

"I said I'd  _think_  about it! I was  _lying_! I was gonna give you to Buggy, take the treasure, and  _leave_! I would  _never_  be a  _pirate_!"

Luffy blinked. She was starting to remind him of  _himself_  whenever he thought about the  _marines_. He put a hand on his hat, tilting it so it shadowed his eyes. "A pirate hurt you?"

"W-What are you talking about? Pirates rob and kill innocent people all the time! Do I need a reason to hate them?!"

He pointed towards her face, covered in anger with an undertone of grief. "Your face looks like mine when I think about the people who destroyed my hometown."

Nami froze and opened and closed her mouth. She deflated a little before asking softly, "Your hometown was destroyed?"

Luffy nodded, his free hand tightening into a fist. "Everyone was killed. There was nothing left."

Nami looked away, her face tightening in anger. "That's just like pirates. They destroy everything and-"

"It wasn't pirates." He stared Nami in the eye. "It was the  _marines_."

"B-But why would the marines…?" Luffy didn't answer. Nami bit her lip and turned away. "Pirates killed my mother."

He nodded. He knew the pain of losing someone you loved. "You don't have to join my crew, but I'll still help you get this Boogie guy's treasure."

Nami smiled a little. "It's  _Buggy_. And why are you so determined to help?"

Luffy smiled. "I already said I would. So I just have to go kick this Buggy guy's ass, right?" Nami looked at the rope lying on the ground before turning back to him and nodding. Cracking his knuckles, Luffy's grin turned sharp. This was gonna be  _fun_.

* * *

**So...yeah. Remember how I said this chapter should be longer? I lied. I meant _next_  chapter. Anyway, I'm gonna skip over Luffy's fight with Buggy's crew. Why? Because right now Luffy's OP.**

**And for people wondering about Buggy and Haki - no, he can't use it. He knows what it is (He _did_  sail with Roger, after all) but he didn't learn it then and after eating the devil fruit and going to the East Blue he became so overconfident that he didn't bother to learn it at all.**

**That's really it for this chapter. Nami learns a little bit about Luffy and his past.**

**Okay, so I don't think I mentioned this in past chapters. So when I write from Zoro's POV, I have Luffy giggling. Now, when I say** _giggle_ **I mean his "shishishi" laugh he does. I'm just too lazy to type out "shishishi" every time, so I went with giggle. It kinda sounds like giggling to me in the anime, idk why. Just a random little thought I figured I'd tell y'all.**

**Let me know what you thought!**

**~Akirafanatic**


	6. Chapter 6

Nami couldn't believe it. Even after everything she'd done, this pirate was still willing to help her. Not only that, but he'd taken out everyone in Buggy's crew, including Buggy himself, like it was  _nothing_. She'd been surprised when he'd pulled out a staff similar to hers, but the way he'd used it left her breathless. She was pretty good, if she said so herself, but he was on a whole different level. He used it like it was an extension of his arm, twirling it expertly between his fingers and smoothly swapping from one hand to the other without even looking. She was sure he'd even taken some out without looking, but everything was over so fast she couldn't be sure.

He was strong. Stronger than anyone else she'd ever seen. A small part of her mind wondered if he was stronger than Arlong. She pushed that thought away as soon as it popped up. No matter how strong he was, Arlong was a  _fishman_. Besides, while this pirate might have helped her this time, that didn't mean she could trust him.

"Luffy!" Nami's head jerked up at the sudden voice, glancing away from the treasure she was finishing piling into bags to see who had yelled.

"Zoro! You made it!" Her eyes widened as she took in the green hair, three piercings, and three swords strapped to the newcomers waist. The crewmate he'd been talking about was Roronoa Zoro the  _pirate hunter_?!

The green haired man looked around and smirked. "Looks like I missed all the fun. Try and leave some for me next time."

Luffy laughed. "Sure thing."

Zoro turned his gaze to her. "So who's this?"

"That's Nami, a navigator."

The pirate hunter nodded. "She coming with us?"

"I want her to, but she doesn't like pirates."

Nami finished packing up the treasure and made sure the bags were tied securely. Standing, she turned to face the two. "I'm not going to join your crew, but I'll cooperate with you while it serves my purpose." Luffy grinned happily and nodded. She tossed one of the bags over to him. "These bags are heavy, so you can carry one."

Luffy blinked at the bag. "Wow, you're giving me half?"

"No I'm not! Didn't you hear what I just said?!" He laughed and didn't respond. Nami sighed and hefted the last bag over her shoulder. The walk down to the docks was quiet, but comfortable. Nami was glad that this town was free of Buggy's reign. Now they could return to their homes and their lives. She gripped the bag a little tighter. Soon her town would be free as well. She was so  _close_  to her goal.

When they got to the pier, she headed towards the boat she'd stolen. "Is this your boat?" He glanced back at Luffy. "It's cool!"

"I stole it from a bunch of pirates."

"We've been waiting for you thief!" Nami stiffened a little, looking up at the three people who'd appeared on the ship. "We knew you'd come back if we stayed here!"

"You know them?" Luffy jerked a thumb at the trio.

She laughed nervously. "Kind of."

"Kind of?!" They turned towards Luffy and Zoro, smirks falling off their faces as they screamed and jumped into the sea, swimming away as fast as they could. Nami looked over at them, an eyebrow raised in question, but they both shrugged. Deciding it wasn't that big a deal, she climbed aboard her stolen boat. Setting down her bag of treasure, she went about preparing to sail.

"Hey Nami," She paused and looked over at Luffy. "Here." He handed her the bag of treasure she'd given him to carry. She frowned when she took it, remembering it being heavier. Luffy grinned and pointed towards the dock. "I left a bit of it for the villagers to help rebuild their town."

She wanted to be angry. It was  _her_  treasure after all, but he was right. The money would be put to good use fixing up what Buggy had destroyed, and it wasn't like he'd left  _all_  of it behind. Still. "It's  _my_  treasure! Don't go around giving it away like you own it!"

Zoro laughed along with Luffy. "Oh, and Nami," She sighed and turned back to the black-haired male. He was grinning up at her. "I'm hungry. Do you have any food?"

"Don't you have your own provisions?!"

Zoro shrugged. "We finished them."

She felt her eyebrow tick. "AND YOU WERE GOING TO SAIL OFF WITHOUT RESTOCKING?!" Slapping a hand to her forehead, she pointed back at the town. "Go find a store and get some supplies!"

"But we don't have any money."

She hit Luffy over the head. "YOU'RE PIRATES AREN'T YOU?!" He frowned and she felt like smacking her head against the mast. "The treasure you left will cover it. Just go."

"But that's for them to rebuild their town."

"IT'LL BE ENOUGH! EITHER GO GET SOME FOOD OR STARVE!" She growled as she watched them both run off, a headache forming. She wondered if she made the right choice in sailing with them.

* * *

"We need to plan things more."

Luffy looked over at Nami. "What do you mean?"

"Are we going to the grand line like  _this_?"

He thought about it and nodded. "We'll need more meat."

"And booze," Zoro added.

"I'm not talking about food supplies!" She sighed. "The place we're going, the grand line, is the most dangerous place in the world! Every pirate in this world wishes to get the treasure there, so we need to get a better ship first. We're also short on crew members and this ship doesn't have any equipment. No matter what you think, we can't  _possibly_  be safe."

Luffy nodded. "What do we do then?"

Nami sat down and pulled out a map. "We have to prepare first, and plan for the journeys ahead. There's a village due north. We should go there first. First thing to do when we get there is look for a better ship."

Luffy threw his arms in the air. "And eat some  _meat_!"

"Is that all you think about?!"

"Hey Luffy." He turned towards Zoro. "Since we still have some time before we reach the next island, let's keep training." A wide grin spread onto Luffy's face. He happily pulled out his bo staff and assembled it, twirling it a few times as he walked over to his sitting swordsman. He waited while Zoro tied some of their bandages over his eyes in a make-shift blindfold. Grin widening a touch more, he coated the tip in haki and quickly brought his staff down onto his swordsman head. He made sure it was hard enough to hurt, but light enough he wouldn't accidently knock him out.

"What are you two  _doing_?"

Luffy laughed and continued smacking his swordsman from different angles. "Training."

She raised an eyebrow. "How is  _that_  training?" Luffy hit Zoro again. "It looks like you're just hitting him."

"It's," Zoro grunted as he was hit again, "Supposed to –  _ugh_  – help you –  _damn it_  – predict an enemies – _ugh_  – next move." Luffy went to hit Zoro again, but just clipped the edge of the swordsman head as he tried to duck out of the way but wasn't fast enough to avoid it completely.

"You almost avoided it!"

Zoro rubbed his head where the staff had hit him, a grimace on his face. "Not completely."

"Predict an enemies next move? Really?"

Luffy paused hitting his swordsman and turned to Nami. "Wanna see?"

She shrugged. "Why not?" Luffy grinned excitedly and all but tore off the bandages over Zoro's eyes, wrapping them around his own. He bounced a little in place, waiting for his swordsman to start. He listened as Zoro drew his swords, ignoring Nami's yells about how they shouldn't use real swords in case someone got hurt.

He moved just enough to avoid Zoro's first strike, jumping over the second and letting himself fall and roll out of the way of the third. He kept this up for a while before grinning widely and coating his hand in haki, catching the next strike instead of dodging. He took off the makeshift blindfold and grinned at the gaping Nami.

"You – your hand –  _what_?! You caught his sword with your  _bare hand_! And why the hell did it turn  _black_?!  _WHAT'S GOING ON_?!"

Zoro sheathed his sword and put the blindfold back on. "It's called haki. That's what we're training."

Luffy took his bo staff back out but didn't start the training again right away. "Wanna try it Nami?"

"HELL NO! YOU'D BASH MY SKULL IN!"

"I wouldn't hit that hard!"

"Oh yeah?! Then why is your staff coated in that same black stuff that was able to stop Zoro's sword?!"

"It's  _what_?!" Zoro ripped off the blindfold and turned towards him. Luffy quickly hid his staff behind his back, laughing nervously. "What the  _hell?!_ "

"It's to help you learn how to use it yourself!"

"You told me meditating would do that!"

"It will! This is just to help you learn it faster!"

"Damn it Luffy!"

* * *

Luffy stared out at the island. "Wow! There's really an island here!"

Nami raised an eyebrow. "What did you expect? We followed the map, so it won't be wrong."

"Is there a village here?"

She checked her map and nodded. "Looks like there's a small village."

Luffy hopped off the little boat with Zoro after making sure it wouldn't float away. His swordsman stretched. "Been a long time since I last stood on firm ground."

"That's because you were sleeping all the time!" Luffy laughed and glanced towards the presences he felt up on the cliff. They were pretty weak, so he wasn't worried, but Makino had said it was rude to not introduce himself. He'd never really listened to it before, but now that she was gone he was doing his best to try and remember everything she'd told him. He waved at them with a grin. "Hi! Do you have any meat?!"

Three of the presences ran away. Luffy huffed. He just asked a question. The last person stood up and started yelling at them. "I am the great pirate fleet leader, Usopp, who is in charge of the security of this village! I'm also known as 'The Great Captain Usopp'!" He walked forward until he was standing in front of them. "It's bet if you don't try to attack this village, because my eighty million men are not going to forgive you!"

Luffy frowned and tilted his head. "But you're the only one here." After the other three ran away, there was nobody else around them.

Nami scoffed. "It's obviously a lie."

"I've been caught!"

Luffy laughed. "You're funny! We're not here to attack anyone. We just wanna get some meat."

He dodged Nami's fist with a grin. "We're here for a  _ship_!"

Usopp let out a sigh. "Well, if you're really not gonna attack the village, then I can show you somewhere to eat."

Luffy wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Perfect! Lead the way!"

They followed the long-nosed male up the cliff and towards the village. "So what kind of ship are you looking for?"

Luffy spread his arms. "A  _big_  one! And some companions too! But first  _meat_!"

"And some sake," Zoro added.

Usopp led them into a restaurant and waved at the woman behind the bar, asking for some food and sake. He waited until they were all situated at the table before he said, "Sounds like a big adventure! There's only one place where you can find the stuff you want in this village. Although it's not a very big ship, it's not that small either."

Luffy dug into the food almost the second it was on the table while Zoro downed one of the bottles of booze. Nami turned towards Usopp. "Where?"

"There's a mansion not far from this village that belongs to a wealthy family. The ship belongs to the mansion's owner. Although we say that she is the owner, she si a pitiful young girl. A weak and sick girl that always lies on the bed."

"Eh? Then how come she's the owner of the mansion?"

Luffy lifted his empty plate. "Another plate of meat!"

Zoro raised his glass. "I want some more booze."

"Are you listening to me?!" Usopp shook his head and continued. "I think it happened around a year ago. That girl's parents died of sickness, leaving her a large inheritance, a mansion, and over ten servants." He leaned back with a sigh. "Even if you're really rich, it doesn't exempt you from sorrow."

Nami sighed. "Never mind. Let's forget about searching for a ship in this village. We'll go search somewhere else."

Luffy grinned. "Okay! But we're not in a hurry. I still want some more meat! Let's buy some more meat for our supply!"

Usopp leaned forward. "Oh yeah, you said earlier that you're looking for companions?"

Luffy blinked in surprise. "Is there someone who wants to be our companion?"

The long-nosed male slammed his fist onto the table and grinned. "Let me be the captain, and I'll join you!"

Luffy, Nami, and Zoro all hung their heads. "Never mind."

Usopp frowned and stood up. "Well, everyone knows me around here, so eat as much as you want. I have somewhere to be, so I'll be going on ahead."

"Thanks! More meat!"

Luffy happily chomped down on the meat as Usopp left. It was only a little while longer that three presences gathered under the window outside. Luffy ignored them as he continued eating. He didn't look up until the same three presences slammed open the door and shouted, "The Usopp Pirate Group is here!"

"Who are they?"

The kids marched up to their table, fake swords raised. "H-Hey pirates! What did you do to our captain Usopp?! Give us back our captain!"

Finally finishing the last of the food, Luffy happily sat back. "That meat was so good!"

"M-Meat?! He…He  _ate the captain_!"

Zoro leaned his head on his hand and grinned at the three. "Your captain…"

"W-What did you do?!"

"We just… _ate him_."

Luffy and Zoro laughed as the kids screamed and looked at Nami, who yelled back at them before turning to yell at Zoro for telling them that. She then went on to explain to the kids that their captain had left earlier.

"He probably went to the mansion then."

"Mansion?" Nami leaned forward on the table. "The place where the sick girl lives?"

"Yup!"

Luffy looked down at the kids. "Why does he go there?"

"To tell lies!"

He frowned in confusion. "Isn't that a bad thing to do?" Makino had always told him lying was bad.

The kids shook their heads, smiles on their faces. "No, actually it's great!"

"How can that be great?" Nami didn't seem convinced.

"The girl from the mansion has been very depressed since her parents died."

"Captain goes there to tell her lies and get her to laugh."

Nami propped her head against her hand. "So to restore her spirits, he's been going for a year to amuse her with made up tales?"

"Yup! I like his nosiness."

"I like captain's cowardice."

"I like his lies!"

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "What kind of strong points are those?"

Luffy grinned, leaning towards the kids. "So the lady is feeling better already?" The kid nodded. "All right! Then let's go to the mansion and ask for a ship!"

Nami slammed her hands on the table. "No! Didn't you just say you'd give it up?!"

Luffy ignored her and ran out the door, heading towards the mansion. If the lady was feeling better then she could give them a ship! He stopped in front of the gates, tilting his head back to see how high they were. He tried to remember what Makino had told him about asking for things. "Good afternoon, please lend us a ship!" He waited for a few seconds, but nobody answered. Shrugging, he started climbing the gates. "Let's just go in."

The kids stared after him. "Then what's the use of that greeting?"

Nami sighed. "We can't stop him."

"Since we can't stop him, we'll have to follow him." Zoro shrugged and made for the gate to start climbing as well. Nami sighed again but followed as well.

Once they were all through, they followed the path towards where Luffy felt two presences, voices getting louder as they got nearer. "Captain!" The kids yelled and pointed towards Luffy. "We brought this guy here!"

Luffy grinned towards the young woman leaning out of the window. "Oh, so you're the ojou-sama?"

Usopp ran over and put an arm around Luffy's shoulders. "These guys heard of my reputation and travelled far to see me here. They're the new members of the Usopp Pirate Group!"

Luffy frowned. "No! That's not it! I have a request for you."

"A request? For me?"

Luffy nodded. "Yeah, we need a big ship!"

He was interrupted by someone else. Luffy frowned a little at the man. He was stronger than anyone else he'd sensed on this island. Still pretty weak, but Luffy had started to think everyone on this island was weaker than Nami. "You can't just barge into the mansion like this! Please get out! Or is there something you'd like to say?"

Luffy grinned, deciding this guy's weird strength in the small village wasn't anything to worry about right now. "I want a ship!"

The man frowned at him. "No way!" Luffy huffed as the man turned towards the lady and Usopp. "You…you're Usopp. The villagers talk about you. About how much of a  _liar_  you are. I've heard about your father as well. You're the son of a filthy  _pirate_." Luffy's interest was piqued. Usopp was the son of a pirate? "I'm not surprised you turned out this way, but you had better stay away from ojou-sama!"

Usopp's face contorted with rage. "Did you say  _filthy_?"

The man continued as though he hadn't heard. "You and ojou-sama belong to different worlds. Is it money you're after? Name your price!"

The lady slammed her hands on the window sill. "That's  _enough_  Clahador! Apologize to Usopp right now!"

"There's no need for me to apologize to this uncivilized person! I'm telling the truth!" He turned back towards Usopp. "I feel sorry for you. You hate your father, don't you? Because he's a dumb treasure hunter who deserted his family and village!"

"CLAHADOR!"

"I won't let you say another bad things about my father!"

"Why are you so angry? You're not very smart, are you? You should have just told your usual lies and say that your real father is a travelling merchant or that you and he are not blood related."

"SHUT UP!" Usopp ran forward and punched the man across the cheek.

Clahador sat up, holding the spot Usopp punched. "See…you're so violent! Like father like son!"

" _SHUT UP_! I'M PROUD THAT MY DAD WAS A PIRATE! I'M PROUD THAT HE WAS A BRAVE WARRIOR OF THE SEA! YOU'RE RIGHT THAT I LIKE TO LIE, BUT I'M PROUD OF HAVING A PIRATE'S BLOOD IN ME! I DON'T HAVE TO PRETEND THAT I'M NOT! I  _AM_  THE SON OF A PIRATE!"

Luffy blinked. "Oh yeah! That guy! Now I remember!"

The butler guy smirked. "You said pirates are  _brave warriors of the sea_? Don't twist the truth! It's because you have that kind of  _savage_  bloodline that you like to lie so much and use violence whenever you're enraged! I believe you only get close to ojou-sama for the money."

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Who cares what your motive is! The fact that your father is a pirate is more than enough reason for me to kick you out!"

Usopp grabbed the front of Clahador's suit and pulled his fist back for another punch. "I dare you to say that again!"

"Usopp! Please stop! Please don't use violence!" The long-nosed man hesitated, looking back at the young woman. "Clahador isn't a bad person. He's just concerned about me. That's why he's a little extreme." Luffy wondered about that. Something about the butler was just rubbing him the wrong way. It wasn't his place to say anything though.

Clahador slapped Usopp's hand away. "Get the hell out of here. Savages like you are not welcome here! I'll let you off this time, but I warn you! Don't come back here ever again!"

Usopp glared at the man. "Fine. I understand. I'll leave even without you telling me to!" He turned and made his way towards the gates. "I'll never come back here again!"

The kids started screaming at the butler. Luffy wanted to punch him for what he'd said about pirates, but Zoro was dragging him away towards the gates. Sticking his tongue out at the man as they left, he caught sight of Usopp disappearing over the hill and ran after him. He needed to confirm something.

He found the long-nosed male sitting under a tree, staring out at the ocean, and grinned. Quietly scaling the tree, he hooked his feet on a branch and let himself fall so he was hanging upside down in front of the other teen. "Hi!"

Usopp screamed and fell backwards. "What are you doing?!"

Laughing, Luffy put his hands down and unhooked his feet, walking forwards on his hands. "Your dad is Yasopp, right?" Luffy fell and rolled into a sitting position.

"H-How do you know that?"

He grinned. "I've known him since I was a kid!"

"Really? You know my dad?!"

"Yup! You look just like him! No wonder I thought you looked familiar. I just realized that a moment ago."

"Where is he now?"

Luffy shrugged. "Dunno. But I'm pretty sure he's on Shank's ship! Yasopp is one of my favorite pirates in that crew!"

"R-Really?!" Usopp sat back on his hands and sighed happily. "So he's on that red-haired Shank's ship huh?" There was a moment of silence before Usopp jumped up. "RED-HAIRED SHANK'S?!"

Luffy nodded. "Yeah. You know Shanks?"

"Of course! He's a great pirate! Is my dad  _really_  on his crew?!"

"Yeah! His shooting skill is the best. Yasopp never misses anything within his range." He thought back to when Yasopp showed off his sniping skills and when he would get drunk and brag about his son. "Yasopp was a really popular pirate!"

"Is that really true?!" Usopp stood up and faced the sea. "To tell you the truth, even though he left me for the sea, I'm always proud of my dad! But that bastard Clahador looked down on him! He looked down on my pride!"

Luffy nodded. "Yup. I don't like him at all!" He turned towards the other teen. "Are you giving up seeing that ojou-sama?"

Usopp sat back down with a sigh. "I don't know. Maybe if that butler apologizes and begs me, then I'll consider."

Luffy pointed at the base of the cliff they were sitting on where he felt the butler's presence. "That butler?"

"Yeah that one." Usopp shot forward, grabbing the edge of the cliff with his eyes wide. "Why is he here?!"

The two listened as Clahador and another weird looking guy started talking. Luffy frowned. This other guy was stronger than the normal villagers as well. He didn't know what was going on, but he had a bad feeling.

"So are you prepared?" The butler pushed is glasses up.

The weird looking guy nodded. "Of course! We can start operation  _Assassinate ojou-sama_  at any time." Luffy's eyes narrowed. He knew he didn't like that butler guy.

" _Assassinate_  is such an ugly word."

"Ah, right. Accident! We'll call it an accident! Isn't that right, captain Kuro?"

"I gave up that name three years ago. Don't call me that again. You're the captain now."

Luffy tilted his head. He thought the butler's name was Claha-something, so why were they calling him Kuro now? He turned to Usopp. "What are they talking about?"

Usopp frowned. "You heard them, why are you asking me? I think I've heard the name captain Kuro somewhere. I think he's the pirate famous for his careful planning before robbing and plundering, but I heard he got caught by the marines three years ago and got executed." The two down below kept talking about how they'd planned it and what was going to happen. "I've heard a horrible plan!"

Luffy rested his chin on his folded arms. He didn't really get what their plan was, but he could tell it was bad. He glanced towards Usopp. "What's going on? It doesn't look good."

"Kaya will be killed…the village will be under attack…not good…not good at all!"

Luffy frowned, flashing back to when his own village had been under attack. Gritting his teeth, he stood up. He ignored Usopp telling him to get back down and glared at the two at the base of the cliff. "HEY! YOU TWO! DON'T YOU DARE ATTACK THIS VILLAGE!" Usopp tried to pull him back down, hiding behind him when the butler saw him.

Clahador fixed his glasses. "Did you…hear anything?"

Luffy nodded. "We heard everything!" He ignored the long-nosed teen yelling behind him and kept glaring at the two below.

The weird looking one pulled out a ring and started swinging it back and forth. "You two, take a look at this pendulum." Luffy squinted slightly, trying to figure out what it was. "When I say one, two, Jango, you will fall asleep…one…two…Jango!" Luffy felt his eyes close as a wave of sleep overtook him.

* * *

**Here comes Usopp! Also, if the Haki training sounds a little awkward, it's because Luffy doesn't really know how to explain Haki. Because of that Zoro only has a rough idea of what he's learning.**

**So a lot of the dialogue comes from the manga, as I stated last chapter. Again, you'll see a lot of the changes happen with the fights and how Luffy reacts - which will also start to influence/change the way his crew reacts to situations.**

**Don't forget to let me know what you thought!**

**~Akirafanatic**


	7. Chapter 7

Zoro glared at Nami. He couldn't believe she had that  _gall_  to drag him down that stupid oil slick and then use him as a rug to escape herself! "Don't be such a baby! Better that only one of us fell than  _both_  of us getting stuck."

" _It should have just been you_!" Luffy was next to him, yelling at Usopp for not telling him which way North was. He turned to his captain in annoyance. "I thought you said you could tell where people were!"

Luffy huffed. "Only when they're nearby!" They were distracted when the pirates they'd sent flying down the cliff started getting up. "Oh, they're still alive."

Zoro side eyed his captain. "Luffy." He ignored whatever the pirates were doing down below, waiting for his captain to turn to him. "You sit this one out."

"What? Why?" He wasn't sure if the younger boy was frowning our pouting.

"You took out everyone during the last two fights, remember? So leave this one to us." He gestured towards Nami and Usopp who didn't look happy in the least. He grinned, itching for a good fight. Now the boy was fully pouting, but thankfully he nodded and shuffled over towards a tree near the top of the cliff, plopping down and sulking. Zoro would deal with the huffy teen later. For now, he'd get rid of these pirates while showing his captain just what he could do.

Zoro's attention was drawn back to the pirates below when they all let out a loud roar. One of them walked over to the cliff wall and pulled his fist back. Nami and Usopp screamed when the guy's punch managed to break part of the cliff off. Gripping his swords, Zoro pulled out the Wado Ichimonji and put it in his mouth.

He waited as the crew charged, settling into his stance and spinning his remaining two swords. "Three sword style. Tatsu…" He waited an extra second, making sure they were all close enough, before charging forward. " _Maki_!" All the enemy pirates were forced back towards their ship on a large whirlwind, either hurt or dead from the cuts of his sword.

Surveying his work, he took the Wado Ichimonji from his mouth. He was disappointed that it was over so fast. He was hoping after seeing one of them break the cliff that they would put up a better fight.

"That was  _awesome_!" Zoro smirked as he glanced back at Luffy. It seemed his performance had gotten his captain to forget about his sulking. "They all went flying! You're really strong!" Zoro wondered why Luffy had made him part of the crew if he didn't know how strong he was.

"COME DOWN! NYABAN BROTHERS!"

Zoro raised an eyebrow as he turned back towards the fallen pirates. "Guess there's still some left." He wasn't expecting the two weirdos that jumped down from the ship. The freaky hypno guy told them to fight, but rather than charge like Zoro was expecting, the two started shaking and yelling about how they couldn't because Zoro looked too strong.

"SHAM! GO NOW!" The skinnier of the freaky two actually started crying as he ran towards Zoro. He was screaming something about his claws being really sharp.

"What can you do to me with those claws?" Zoro clenched his katana tighter. He hated being forced to cut down weaklings. There was no honor in that. "If you don't stop now I'll attack you!"

Zoro's eyes widened as he saw the weakling grab his unsheathed katana and steal his other two. He blinked and found the skinny cat-like guy almost upon him and automatically turned away, using his one hand to swing his katana at the weirdo and moving his other to protect the ones at his waist. He jumped back a few paces, eyes narrowing. Was that…? Luffy laughed behind him, and he spared a brief glace back to see the wide smile on his face, hat shadowing his eyes. "Looks like you finally unlocked it."

Zoro grinned, eyes turning back to his now way opponent as he pout the Wado Ichimonji back into his mouth and took his third katana into his left hand. He'd been overconfident, and that had almost cost him his swords. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

Settling into his stance, he crossed his arms over his chest. "Three sword style.  _Oni_ …" He moved towards the thin bastard. " _Giri!_ " He flicked his swords to get rid of any blood that may have gotten on them as he turned to make sure there weren't any more surprises. He wasn't about to let these weirdos get the drop on him again. He brought up his swords to block the sudden strike from the bigger cat-looking guy, grunting at the power behind the strike.

His arms buckled a little, but he held strong before pushing the large guy off him. He shook his arms out. That guy was a weirdo, but he was  _strong_. If he let that guy get a clean hit, his bones would shatter! He got back into his stance, ready to finish the big guy, but frowned in confusion when his opponent suddenly froze in fear and the hypno guy below started yelling, "I…I…I can explain! Ca-Cap-Captain Kuro!"

Zoro glanced back at the man standing at the top of the slope but made sure to keep the big guy he was fighting in his sights in case he tried something. "It has been pretty long since dawn. I was wondering why the plan wasn't carried out. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!" The man glared down at everyone. "I didn't expect you to be held up by these  _children_. The Kuro Neko Pirate fleet has been reduced to a truly sad state. Isn't that right  _Jango_?!"

"B-But you said we could let that kid go…because he couldn't affect our plans!"

"Yes…I  _did_  say that. So what?! He still cannot affect our plans! I expected he would come after us. What I didn't expect was your uselessness! No more excuses!"

Zoro's attention returned to his opponent when the big guy started shaking. "We've attacked many villages and sank many ships. You've been inactive for three years! Sham may have been defeated, but I can still beat you! You're no longer our captain! Instead of getting killed by you silently, I should kill you first!" He raced past Zoro and towards the man at the top of the cliff.

Taking the Wado Ichimonji out of his mouth, he waited to see where this would go. The glasses wearing guy – Kuro? – vanished right as the cat freak tried to slice him and reappeared behind him. "Who did you say you were going to kill?" Zoro frowned at the odd gloves Kuro was wearing. Each finger had a sword attached to it. He'd never seen anything like it before. The big guy turned towards Kuro, only for him to vanish and reappear behind him again, weird looking weapon held threateningly to his throat. "You're right. I really don't feel too active. You're also right that I'm no longer your captain. I am only the  _client_  in this plan. A client who will kill if the plan fails!"

Zoro could hear the hypno freak at the bottom mumbling something to himself, but he ignored it in favor for what was happening in front of him. Kuro stabbed the tip of one of the swords into the big guy's neck, causing screams of pain. "After three quiet years it seems that I've become more generous. I give you five minutes. If you can't settle this in five minutes…I'll kill you all."

Zoro grit his teeth when he heard that. Was this guy  _really_  willing to kill his entire crew for not being able to finish the fight in a few minutes? The big guy wasted no time in coming after him again, so Zoro put the Wado Ichimonji back into his mouth and held the other two up and behind it. "Tora… _Gari_!" He slashed downwards, sending the creepy cay-guy tumbling down to the bottom of the cliff with multiple slashes in his stomach. He held the katana in his right hand out towards the Kuro guy. "Don't worry. In five minutes, I'll kill you all. No exceptions!"

Kuro used the base of his palm to push his glasses back up. "Let's see you try it."

"CAPTAIN JANGO! HYPNOTIZE ME!"

Kuro sneered at him. "He's still alive. You were too nice."

Zoro grunted and turned back towards the big guy. "Must have been all that blubber." He should have cut deeper. His eyes widened slightly when the cat-guy stood up with a yell. "Hypnotism again?" That guy's punches were strong before. Powered up they'd probably be even  _worse_!

"CLAHADOR! STOP IT!"

"What  _now_?" Zoro turned back around, annoyed at all the back and forth going on, and his eyes narrowed at the sight of the rich girl standing behind the fake butler.

"Kaya! Why… _why are you here_?!"

"Isn't that the ojou-sama of the mansion?! She's the target of the mission!"

"We don't have to go to the village!"

"We can just kill her now!"

Kuro looked shocked as he used the base of his palm to push his glasses up again. "You surprised me…ojou-sama. What are you doing here?"

"Merry told me everything."

"Oh? He didn't die? I didn't show him any mercy…"

The girl looked shocked by those words, and Zoro sheathed the Wado Ichimonji for now. He could defend against a surprise attack with two swords, but it seemed like the fighting was on hold for the moment. "I'm really sorry Usopp! Maybe you can't forgive me so easily, but I…really can't believe…that Clahador is a pirate!"

"Never mind that! Why are you here?! Didn't I tell you to run away?! These pirates are after your life!"

"Aren't you fighting as well?!" Zoro squinted a little. He was pretty sure she was crying now. "We treated you so badly…and yet you're here fighting, even with those wounds…"

"We're different! I…I'm a brave warrior of-"

"CLAHADOR! If you want my money, I will give it all to you! Please! Leave the village!"

Zoro didn't like the look on the fake butlers face. "You're wrong ojou-sama. It's not only money I'm after. I also was  _piece of mind_. I spent three years here to gain the villager's trust. I feel at peace here. Only when I have obtained  _piece_  and  _money_  will my plans be complete. That's why having my crew attack the village, and making you leave a will at your death is  _essential_."

"KAYA RUN! Don't bother negotiating with him! He's no longer the butler you knew!"

Rather than run, the girl pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Kuro, or Clahador, or whatever his name was. "LEAVE THIS VILLAGE!" He had to give the girl some credit. She had guts.

"So…you've become stronger in these years. Do you still remember? A lot has happened in the last three years. Since your parents passed away, we've been together for quite some time. We took boat rides together, went to town together…when you were sick with a fever I always stayed by you to take care of you." Zoro didn't think this guy could get any worse. "We've shared our troubles, and our joy. I've served you tirelessly!" The pistol in her hands was shaking now as she bit her lip. "I suffered taking care of this nosy little ojou-sama. I suffered waiting for so long. All this is so that I can kill you today!" The tears she'd tried to hold back were now fully streaming down her face.

A glance towards Usopp showed he was ready to  _kill_. " _BASTARD_!"

"I was a captain in the past, and I had to serve such a young, naïve little girl obsequiously…deliberately to make her like me. Can you understand how  _demeaning_  my days have been?!" Usopp screamed as he threw his fist back, but the scream alerted Kuro and allowed him to dodge. "Usopp…now that I think about it, I still haven't thanked you for that punch you gave me last time. You hit me really hard." He held out his arms, spreading his fingers as well as his swords. Before he could move, Luffy was in front of Kuro, punching him so hard the ground where his head hit cracked.

Zoro hadn't even seen him move. There was silence as everyone waited to see if Kuro would get back up, but the man stayed down. Zoro was half convinced the man was dead. Easily hefting the man by his jacket, Luffy threw him down at the pirates still alive. "Take him back! Don't  _ever_  come here again!" Those who could still move grabbed the unconscious, wounded, or dead and loaded back onto their ship before sailing away faster than Zoro thought a ship could move.

Sheathing all this swords, he grinned at his captain. "I thought I told you to leave these guys to me."

Luffy huffed. "He was pissing me off."

"Captain!" The three kids who had been at the restaurant came charging out of the woods, looking around at everyone and all the destruction to the cliff in confusion. "What happened?"

"Captain! You're hurt!"

Usopp laughed and waved them off. "These are nothing! What are you three doing here?"

"We saw Kaya running towards the shore and followed her! We heard screaming and shouting and loud noises!" Zoro yawned and moved to sit against the cliffs wall as Usopp spun some lie while the rich girl wiped her eyes and explained what  _really_  happened. It took a while, but eventually the kids and the rich girl left.

Usopp turned to them and smiled. "Thank you! If it weren't for you guys…the village couldn't have been protected!"

Zoro smirked. "What are you saying? If you hadn't done anything, I wouldn't have either."

"Same here." Luffy frowned. "Though I didn't really do anything anyway."

Nami laughed as she hugged a bag that Zoro was  _positive_  she hadn't had earlier. "That doesn't matter! I was able to get the treasure!" His eyebrow twitched. When the  _hell_  had she done that?

Usopp put his hands on his hips. "In light of this, there's a decision I've made!"

* * *

Luffy's mouth dropped open as he stared at the ship in front of him. I was  _awesome_! The cool goat looking guy started talking about things he didn't really understand, but one thing was clear. "You're giving it to us?!"

Kaya nodded. "I insist."

"I'll explain the steering system. First of all, in order to adjust the yards…" Luffy didn't understand a word of what the cool goat guy was saying. He was saved when Nami lightly pushed him out of the way, saying he could explain it to her instead. He didn't care, he was just excited that they had an awesome ship now!

Kaya laughed a little. "I had everything you would need for a voyage loaded on to the ship."

Luffy grinned. "Thanks for causing all this trouble!"

Zoro sighed next to him. "It's  _for going through all this trouble_."

Luffy's ears twitched at the sound of yelling at the same time he sensed something approaching fast. He turned to find Usopp and a huge bag rolling towards them at a high speed. "What's he doing?"

"I think we should stop him before he hits the ship." Luffy nodded and walked over next to Zoro, both of them lifting a foot for Usopp to run into instead.

"T…Thank you."

"No problem."

Luffy turned and ran towards his new ship, jumping up to explore the inside. It had  _everything_! A kitchen, a big deck, and a place to sleep! He moved towards the railing to get the other two to hurry up, since Zoro had already climbed aboard. Usopp stood next to the boat they'd come in, huge pack at his side. "Well, safe voyage guys! Hope to see you again somewhere!"

"Why?" Usopp was going with them, so why would he say that?

"You such a cold-hearted man. We're both going to be pirates now, so we might meet again on the high seas…"

Zoro frowned and pointed towards the deck. "What are you talking about? Get on already!"

Usopp seemed stumped. "What?"

Luffy folded his arms on the railing and put his head on top of them. "You're already our companion, aren't you?"

"I…I'M THE CAPTAIN RIGHT?!"

Luffy frowned and jumped up. " _I'M_  THE CAPTAIN!" Usopp laughed as he hauled the giant bag onto the ship and they  _finally_  set off! While he wasn't a fan of booze, Luffy made an exception and grabbed a bottle along with four mugs. He grinned as he poured it, tossing the empty bottle and hoisting his mug. "To a new ship and a new crew member!" Everyone else raised their mugs as well. "CHEERS!"

* * *

Usopp stared at the monstrosity before him. "I put a lot of thought in to making our symbol!" Luffy seemed so  _proud_  of it, but it was… _terrible_.

"Calling him artistically challenged would be an  _understatement_."

Nami was staring intently at the mark. "No…this could be some sort of abstract art." Usopp disagreed. It wasn't art in any sense.

Zoro seemed like he didn't know what to think. "A pirate's flag should be a symbol of death, but this flag is…well…I guess it's quite terrifying in a sense." He had to agree. It was terrifying in its own horrible way.

The grin on Luffy's face was so wide and happy. "Whaddya think?"

"You're  _beyond_  terrible! Leave the drawing to me!" He took the paint and flag and quickly drew a work of  _true_  art! He held it up proudly, head ringing when Luffy and Zoro smacked him for changing it. He huffed and went to redo it, muttering about how they couldn't take a joke. So  _what_  if it looked a  _little bit_  like him?

"That's perfect!" He grinned as he looked at his handywork. It was  _much_  better than that… _thing_ …Luffy had drawn earlier.

Zoro looked back and forth between the one Luffy had drawn and the one he'd done. "It doesn't look even remotely like the other one." Usopp was just glad he could tell what Luffy had been  _trying_  to paint.

"Draw one on the sail later too!"

When he was  _finally_  done with the painting, he fell onto his back on the deck. Painting the symbol on a flag or two was one thing but painting it on the sail had taken  _forever_! He jumped when a loud bang came from the side of the ship, sitting up and finding Luffy standing next to their cannon. Zoro raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing all the sudden?!"

"Testing the cannon! It'd be a waste not to make good use of it!" Usopp was secretly surprised Luffy even knew how to work a cannon. "I can't get it to fire well though…"

Standing up, he marched over towards the other teen. "Stand aside! Let a professional show you how it's done!"

Luffy pointed towards a tall rock in the distance. "Try aiming for that rock!"

"Okay!" He had Luffy load it once more before he started aiming towards the rock. "Judging the distance between here and the target… _this_  should about do it…" He fired, watching as the cannonball flew through the air and hit the rock dead on. He couldn't believe it. He'd actually hit it!

"Holy crap! You hit it on your first shot!"

"You're right, I  _did_!" He cleared his throat and grinned proudly. "I mean,  _of course_  I did! I'm an expert when it comes to all things aiming! Feel free to bow down before me and address me as captain!"

Luffy frowned for a split second before grinning widely. Usopp wondered if he imagined it. "I've decided! You can be our sniper!" They made their way into the kitchen area with Zoro and Nami.

"Alright. I guess I can settle for that for the time being.  _But_ , if you ever chicken out from your duties, I'll take charge as the ship's captain."

Usopp wondered at the smile that appeared on Luffy's face. It wasn't the same as his normal ones. "Alright, fine." He paused and looked up before nodding to himself. "I just had an idea! There's still one crucial position of a pirate crew we need to fill before entering the grand line!"

Nami smiled and rested her hand on her head. "You're right. We  _do_  have a fantastic kitchen after all. Of course, I could do it as long as I get paid."

"An indispensable crew member for long voyages."

Luffy pointed towards Zoro with a wide grin. "You think so too, right? Yup, what a pirate ship crew really needs is a  _musician_!"

Usopp let his head fall to hit the table. "ARE YOU RETARTED?!"

"AND HERE I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO SAY SOMETHING SMART FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YOUR LIFE!"

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT SAILING ON THE SEAS IS LIKE?!"

Luffy blinked, looking honestly confused. "B-But a pirate's gotta sing!" Usopp wondered what he'd signed up for when he agreed to join this crew.

* * *

Luffy hopped up and down excitedly. They were gonna get a  _cook_! He could see the restaurant in the distance, and it looked  _awesome_! It was like a giant floating  _fish_! That was just so  _awesome_!

He turned when a ship came up next to them. He'd ignored it since it didn't really have anyone strong on it, but his eyes narrowed slightly when he saw it was a  _marine_  ship.

Usopp clenched his teeth next to him. "They're not going to attack us now, are they?"

Luffy didn't answer. Someone on the marine ship came up to the railing. "I'm the lieutenant of the marine headquarters knows as 'Ironfist Fullbody'. Who's you're captain? Name yourself."

"I'm Luffy. I just finished making my pirate flag the day before yesterday."

"And I'm Usopp." Luffy frowned slightly, side eyeing the long nosed male next to him. This was the  _third_  time now Usopp had tried to stake his claim as the captain since joining.

The marine looked past him and his eyebrow rose. "I think I've seen you two before. You frequent the government offices on some business. If I remember correctly, you're…small time bounty hunters. Yosaku and Johnny I think your names were."

"Hey, Yosaku, I think this bro's sticking it to us."

"Well, we can't just let some guy walk around calling us  _small time_. This ain't gonna net us a single beli, but I think we oughta teach this kid how to keep his mouth shut." Johnny and Yosaku raced forward, sabers drawn, but the marine easily beat them back. Luffy wasn't surprised. The two were really weak.

"Consider yourselves lucky pirates, because I'm on break today. I only came here to eat at the restaurant. But consider your lives forfeit the next time you run into me when I'm not off-duty." Luffy glared at him.

"GUYS! WE'RE IN DEEP SHIT! THAT BASTARD'S AIMING HIS CANNON AT US!"

Hopping up onto the railing, Luffy held up a fist and hit the cannonball down into the water. He wasn't about to let this asshole sink his brand-new ship! Cracking his knuckles, he tilted his head down slightly and glared at the marines. "Try that again. I  _dare_  you." He snorted when they scrambled to move the ship away, hopping down and ignoring the shocked looks from his crew, Johnny and Yosaku. He grinned and patted his stomach. "I'm hungry! Let's eat!"

* * *

**Usopp is officially part of the crew, and they're at the Baratie! Zoro has started to awaken his haki. It's not 100% yet, but he's officially awaked the first type! As for Luffy getting upset at Usopp claiming to be the captain - it'll be relevant later on in the story. And for me having Luffy hit the cannonball into the water - he did the same thing (in the anime at least, not sure about the manga yet) when escaping Garp at Water 7. If you haven't noticed, I'm not having him use his rubber powers much right now. My reasoning for this is as follows:**

**1) He's working on his staff skills because he's still getting used to the heavier material**  
2) He hasn't had a need to use it yet - like I said, OP until somewhere on the grand line  


**Whether or not his crew knows about it...**

**And did you know that in the manga when Jango throws his hypno ring as Nami and hits Luffy instead, he hits the** _back of Luffy's head_ **?! In the anime Luffy catches it with his teeth! I haven't gotten too far in the manga yet, but it's got some real gems that the anime either did differently or changed the lines for. So glad I'm finally reading it. I've put it off for so long, that I have a** _lot_ **of catching up to do. Boy am I** _not_ **looking forward to certain arcs.**

**Anyway, let me know what you thought!**

**~Akirafanatic**


	8. Chapter 8

Luffy laughed as he watched the blond guy beat up the marine who'd tried to sink their ship earlier. Served the bastard right. "I love this place!" The food was yummy, the people who worked there were funny, and the stupid marine got beat up by a swirly eyebrowed person  _and_  an old guy with a tall hat, an  _awesome_  mustache, and a  _peg leg_.

"Lieutenant Fullbody! It's an emergency! Forgive me sir! But! He's escaped from the ship's prison! The underling of pirate Krieg has escaped! It took seven of us just to capture him in the first place, but now he's gone!"

"That's  _impossible!_  He shouldn't have even had the strength to  _move_! He was on the verge of death when we captured him three days ago! Not to mention he hasn't had a single scrap of food since then!"

Everyone in the restaurant started freaking out, and Luffy tilted his head in confusion. "What're they so worked up about?" Nobody got a chance to answer him before the marine who'd run inside screaming about someone escaping was shot in the back. All the customers started screaming, but the cooks who were fighting didn't seem worried. "Who's that? A pirate?" He kept eating as he watched the guy walk forward and sat at an empty table, resting one of his feet on top.

"Anything will do…just bring me some food…this place  _is_  a restaurant right?!" He was weak, but Luffy could tell this guy was strong. He reminded him of Zoro when his crewmate was tied up in that plaza. He absently kept eating what he could reach as he watched one of the cooks talk to the pirate. The pirate pulled the pistol he'd used to kill the marine and placed it against the cooks forehead. In response, the cook clasped his hands together and slammed then down onto the pirates head, breaking the chair in the process.

"He's pretty strong." All the customers started cheering as the cook yelled at the pirate to get out if he didn't have money while kicking him in the stomach. Luffy barely noticed the marine who'd tried to sink his ship crawling out the front door. He slowly stopped eating as he stared at the pirate on the ground. He grabbed a roll and headed towards where he'd seen the cook drag the pirate out.

Luffy hopped onto the railing of the upper deck, about to jump down to the pirate when the swirly eyed guy from earlier came out with a plate of food and a glass of water, setting them down in front of the starving man before sitting nearby. "Eat." He hopped back onto the upper deck and leaned against the railing as he watched the pirate gobble down the food, tears streaming from his eyes.

"I don't know what to say…I've never had such delicious food…in my entire life! I'm so grateful! I thought…I was going to die! I thought it was all over for me!"

The eyebrow guy grinned. "It's damn good, right?"

Luffy rested his chin on the railing. "Looks like I found a good cook!" He bit into the roll he'd brought with him, finishing it in two bites. Swallowing, he called out to the two below. "Lucky! You got some food! You were almost about to die before! Hey cook! Join my crew will ya? Be the cook for my pirate ship!" He laughed at the looks on their faces and happily jumped down, sitting on the railing next to the cook.

"You're a pirate?" The swirly browed male slowly blew out a stream of smoke. "You'd better not try anything funny in this restaurant. The owner of this place used to be the cook of a pretty infamous pirate crew."

"Oh? That old man used to be a pirate?" No wonder he was so awesome.

"This restaurant's like a treasure to that damn geezer, and the rest of the cooks who came to work here out of their admiration for that geezer are all hot-blooded enough and crude enough to be pirates." Luffy knew he liked this restaurant for a reason! "But it's quite appropriate considering all the pirates that frequent around these parts."

"Not a quiet moment in this place, eh?" Luffy laughed.

"Yeah, but it's daily routine for us. There've even been some guests lately who come to see the pirates and the cooks duke it out. Thanks to that, all the waiters got scared and ran away."

"Whatever. Hey, join my crew!" This guy seemed pretty strong – like Zoro – and he was a cook who fed someone starving even though they didn't have money. He was a good guy, and Luffy wanted him for his crew!

"I'll have to refuse your offer. I've got my own reason to keep working here."

Luffy frowned. "No." He wanted  _this_  cook for his crew! Besides, Luffy couldn't think of any reason the cook could give to stay that could make him give up. "I refuse!"

"W-What?"

"I refuse your refusal! You're a good cook so we'll be pirates together!"

"At least hear me out…"

"Fine then. What's your reason?"

"No need to tell you."

"But you just told me to hear you out!"

"All I meant was that you should hear other people's opinions when talking! Don't make me chop you up, you damn strawhat-wearing shithead!"

"What did you say?! Don't you  _dare_  insult my strawhat or I'll send you flying!" Good cook or not,  _nobody_  insulted his strawhat.

"Sorry to cut into your conversation but…"

Luffy turned to glare at the previously starving pirate. "What is it?!"

"My name's Gin. I'm a member of the Krieg pirates. So you said you're a pirate? Can I ask what your objective is?"

Luffy grinned. "I'm going to find the One Piece, which is why I'll go to the grand line!" He'd promised Shanks after all. He'd also promised Rayleigh to meet up again on Sabaody.

"If you're looking for a cook, I'm assuming you don't have very many people on your crew yet, right?"

Luffy nodded, pointing towards the cook. "With him, that makes five!" He ignored the cook's angry  _Don't count me_.

"You don't seem to be a bad guy, so let me give you a piece of advice. Give up, on going to the grand line. You're still-"

"No." Gin stared up at him, surprised. Luffy gave the other pirate a hard stare. "I made a  _promise_  to someone I greatly respect. I'm  _going_  to the grand line."

Gin opened and closed his mouth a few times before nodding. "I can tell there's no talking you out of this. I just wanted to warn you. You're free to do what you want. It's not like I have the right to stop that. And Sanji, thank you so much for the food. You're my savior. That meal was really the best I've ever had. Would it be alright to come here to eat again?"

Sanji grinned. "Sure, anytime." Luffy watched as Sanji gave Gin a ship to leave on. He glanced up towards the upper deck when he sensed someone, grinning at the cool old man.

Laughing lightly, he put his hands behind his head and made his way back inside. "Thanks for the food Sanji! Don't get caught again, okay Gin?"

* * *

Sanji frowned. "I'm the assistant head chef of this place. So just what do you mean exactly when you say that I'm not needed?!"

Zeff crossed his arms, leaning against one of the chairs. "You cause too much trouble with the guests, and if they happen to be female, you drool all over them. You also can't cook a decent meal to save your life. You're just unnecessary baggage, holding this restaurant down. And as you probably know, none of the other cooks want you here. So whether it be a pirate or something else, it's just better for you to get the hell out of my shop."

Nami watched as the two argued. Obviously the head chef wanted Sanji to leave, but she wondered if it really was for those reasons. Sanji had brought them their food – he'd even specially prepared some dishes for her – and they were all delicious. While she could attest to him drooling over females, she'd only seen him attack one customer and that was because the customer had caused a scene and was trying to ruin the restaurant.

"So that's what you wanted to say to me all along, you damn geezer?!" Sanji walked forward and grabbed the front of the head chef's uniform. "Ignoring all your other comments, if there's one thing I won't stand for, it's someone insulting my cooking! No matter what you say, I'm staying here! Got that?!"

Luffy grabbed a plate in each hand, moving behind her. Following his lead, she, Usopp, and Zoro grabbed what plates they could just in time for Sanji to be thrown into their table. "How dare you grab the collar of the head chef!"

"Damn it…" Sanji sat up, glaring at the head chef. "You can try to chase me out all you want! But I'll continue to be a cook here, you hear?! Until the day you die, at the very least!"

The head chef turned and started walking away. "I ain't dying. I'll live for another hundred years."

"Pretty mouthy for a damn geezer, aren't you?!"

Nami watched as Luffy put the plates in his hand on an empty table and walked over to Sanji, a big grin on his face. "Alright! He gave you permission. Now we can be pirates-"

"As if!" Nami smiled happily as Sanji set a wine glass in front of her, pouring her a drink. "Forgive me for that ruckus just now. As an apology, please enjoy this fruit Macedonia, and this glass of grand Marnier."

"Oh, thank you so much!" She grinned at him. "You're so nice!"

Usopp frowned. "What about us?! This is gender discrimination! I'll sue, you crazy-love cook!"

Nami happily dug in as Sanji and Usopp argued. "I already gave you some tea! You could at least say a word of thanks for that, punk!"

"What?! You wanna start something, is that it?! I ain't gonna go easy on you! Get him Zoro!"

"Get him yourself." Nami glared at Luffy who was drooling over her special dessert but rolled her eyes and flicked part of it towards him, giggling as he caught it in his mouth out of the air.

Usopp pointed towards his empty plates. "You haven't even cleared away my plates."

"That's because you still have mushrooms left! Finish it!"

"I left them on purpose because I  _hate_  mushrooms. I was poisoned by one when I was a kid."

"Well this one ain't poisoned so eat up long-nose!"

Nami rolled her eyes before schooling her face into her best puppy eyes. "Please don't fight just because of me."

Sanji instantly turned away from Usopp. "Anything for you, miss!"

"Just who the hell's fighting for you?!"

Nami put one hand on Sanji's cheek. "By the way, Mr. Cook."

"Yes?"

"The food here's just a  _tad_  too expensive for me."

"Then it shall be free of charge to you miss!"

Nami hugged him, grinning. "Thank you so much!" She stuck her tongue out at Usopp as Sanji told him he still had to pay. As he left, she turned to Luffy. "So, that's they cook you want?"

Luffy grinned and nodded. "I've decided that he'll be our cook." Luffy's grin widened, which Nami hadn't thought possible. "The cool old peg leg guy even said he can join us!" Nami wondered if the cook would actually join them. Sanji had seemed insistent that he wasn't going to leave. She bit the inside of her cheek when Luffy looked away, wondering why she cared if he joined or not. She was going to leave anyway. She'd never actually joined the crew in the first place.

 _"Pirates hurt you?"_  Nami closed her eyes and leaned her head on her hand.  _"You look like I do when I think about the people who destroyed my hometown."_  Luffy would understand. He would probably try and help her, but that was why she had to go. She was getting attached, and no matter how strong he was, she didn't think he could match up to Arlong and the other fishmen. She was jerked out of her thoughts when a hand landed on her shoulder. She looked up and forced a smile at Luffy. He wasn't smiling, and his eyes were worried. "You okay?" His voice was softer than she'd heard it before. It was hard to keep her smile up.

"I-I'm fine. Just…just a little tired." She'd been with Luffy long enough to know he would fall for every lie told and walk into every trap. Looking at his face then, however, she could tell he didn't believe her.

Her smile twitched, and there was silence for a while. Finally, Luffy squeezed her shoulder. "I know you hate pirates, but you're my friend. If you ever need help, you can ask." Anything she was going to say got caught in her throat at the stare Luffy leveled at her. "I made a promise to protect the people I care about, and a promise is something you only make when you're prepared to die to see it through."

Nami's lower lip trembled slightly. Her voice cracked a little as she whispered. "I don't want you to die."

Luffy smiled. "I'm strong Nami." The statement was simple, but for some reason she believed it wholeheartedly. It filled her with confidence. Every moment she spent with Luffy and the others made it harder to leave. They made her feel  _safe_  for the first time since Bellemere had died.

* * *

Sanji was steadily growing more annoyed. It had been  _two days_  now, and the strawhat wearing pirate was  _not giving up_. He kept asking Sanji to join every day, not listening to his refusals. Even the old man was telling him to get his ass moving and join them. The only upside to them not having left yet was the fact there was a  _beautiful_  young woman with them. Sanji made sure to bring her the finest food, and gift her with desserts he'd lovingly prepared paired with the finest of wines.

He looked up from where he was refilling one of the lovely customers wine glass, frowning at the sound of breaking glass. All the customers near the windows were staring outside in shock and fear. "I-It's  _Don Krieg's_  ship! A skull with two hourglasses at its side to threaten their enemies…there's no doubt about it! That's Kreig's ship!"

"Why is it here?!"

Patty and the other idiots who like to call themselves chefs started freaking out. He let out a stream of smoke at the sight of the ship. It was in shambles. Sanji wasn't sure how it was even still floating. "To turn a gigantic galleon of that size into that sad shape…that's no work of humans. They must've been caught up in some natural disaster." The one Sanji had been in all those years ago flashed through his mind. It had sunk his ship and the geezers, and they hadn't been small.

He turned towards the door when it opened, lips tugging down into a frown at the sight of Gin supporting a large man. Sanji could tell he was as starved as Gin had been a few days ago. "Sorry for intruding…but could I have some water…and food? If it's money you want…I've got plenty." For someone said to be the strongest in the East Blue to be reduced to this state. Sanji wondered what had happened.

The man collapsed, and Gin knelt by his side. "Don Krieg! I'm begging you! Please give him food and water! Please save my captain! He'll  _die_  at this rate!" Patty laughed at the sight, and Sanji felt anger burn in his chest. Nobody should starve like this, no matter who it was. This was nothing to laugh about. "We have money this time! We're paying customers!" Patty ignored Gin's desperate pleas and yelled for someone to call the marines while telling the other cooks not to feed him. Sanji grit his teeth. It was a chef's job to feed people. It didn't matter who they were or what they'd done. It wasn't right to let a starving person go hungry.

Sanji slipped into the kitchen while the commotion was going on and started preparing some food. Pirate or not, paying or not, Sanji would feed him. Piling a large serving onto a plate, he grabbed it and one of the bottles of wine. He moved back towards the dining area, frowning at how Patty was still blocking them from entering. "Move it Patty." Rather than give him time to move, Sanji spun and kicked the sorry excuse for a chef out of the way. Kreig was on his hands and knees, head bowed to the ground. "Here Gin. Give him this."

"Sanji!" Kreig had tears in his eyes as he forewent the spoon and used his hands to shovel the food into his mouth while thanking him. It was disgusting, but Sanji wasn't going to tell that to a starving man.

"Hey Sanji! Take that food back this instant! Do you have any idea what kind of man he is?! The ruler of the East Blue, the King of Deceptions! That's Don Kreig for you! He started out by disguising as a marine after escaping from prison! He then killed the marine officer in charge of the ship and took it over! That's how he became a pirate! Since then, he's attacked ports, towns, and other ships by hanging a marine flag, and when attacking his enemies, he hands a white flag to attack them by surprise! He's a man who'll stoop to  _anything_  in order to win! And that's how he made his way to the top! His strength ain't no exaggeration either! You  _really_  think he'll leave after eating?! That's utterly impossible for him! Letting a demon like him starve to death is for the good of this world!"

Sanji disagreed. No matter how evil someone was, they didn't deserve to be starved. Before he could knock some sense into the terrible chef, Kreig's arm shot out and slammed into his neck, throwing him back into the restaurant. "D-Don Krieg! This is different from what you promised! I guided you here because you promised not to harm this restaurant! Not only that, that man is our savior!" Sanji coughed, tasting blood on his tongue, and slowly looked up.

Krieg's hand shot out and he grasped Gin's shoulder, causing a cry of pain. "That was a great meal! I feel like I'm back to my normal self again!"

"So he reveals his fangs at last." Sanji grimaced at the pain, but it wasn't near as bad as the kicks he'd gotten from the geezer over the years.

"Nice restaurant you've got here. I'll take it."

"I told you so! This is the real Krieg, and now he's gonna take over our ship!" Sanji spit out the blood in his mouth and sat up, taking out another cigarette and lighting it. Asshole he may be, Sanji still didn't regret feeding him.

All the customers ran out to the ship they'd arrived on in order to escape as Krieg kept talking. "My ship's all worn out, so I've been wanting a new one. Once my business is done with you, I'll have you get off of this ship. Right now I have around a hundred subordinates on my ship, and they're all starving and critically wounded. So prepare enough water and food to feed all one hundred of my men. There are a few who've already starved to death, so make it quick."

He got to his feet as Gin apologized. If some of the men had starved to death, that meant the rest weren't far behind. He needed to get started. Patty glared at him. "Sanji you bastard! It's because of you we're in this –  _where do you think you're going_?!"

"To the kitchen. I have one hundred meals to prepare." He stopped when every other shitty cook surrounded him, pistols aimed at his head.

"Wo the hell do you think you are Sanji? Krieg's secret agent or something? We ain't gonna let you take a step in the kitchen. We've had  _enough_  of you you're insane and reckless actions!"

Taking another drag of his cigarette, he spread his arms wide. "Fine, stop me if you wish. Go ahead, shoot. I know that they're nothing but scum who aren't worth a  _dime_  saving…" He grinned slightly, "But to me, none of that matters. Thinking about the consequences of feeding a person, it's all such a big hassle." He looked at the cooks surrounding him, grin falling and frown replacing it. "A cook should freely be able to feed  _anyone_  who's starving. Isn't that ideal?!"

A blow to the back of his head had him crashing to the ground. He was barely able to sit up before two of the cooks grabbed his arms and held him there. Patty pointed at him with a glare. "Sanji! I know you feed the customers I chase away from time to time, and I'm not going to say who was right and who was wrong for all those times." So the poor excuse for a cook wasn't a complete failure as a chef. "But this time, it's all your fault! So don't you  _dare_  do any more unnecessary things! I'll protect this restaurant myself!" He took it back. Feeding starving people wasn't unnecessary. "Fortunately, we only have Don Krieg alone to deal with. Just what can he do against all of us?!" Patty hoisted one of the larger guns – more like a miniature cannon really – onto his shoulder, aiming it at Krieg. "This is the Baratie, the restaurant that deals with all sorts of pirates on a daily basis. We're  _more_  than prepared to handle any customer that might come! I'm you're finished with your meal, how about having an  _iron dessert_?!" He fired the mini cannon. "Indigestion meatball cannon!"

It was a direct hit. Patty lowered the cannon with a sigh. "Damn it, I ended up destroying the entrance. The owner's gonna have my head for this."

One of the other chefs waved him off, saying it was fine since he was just protecting the place. Sanji looked over at Patty. "What're you planning on doing with his underlings on the ship?"

The crappy cook smirked. "Well…maybe we oughta butter up his ship and roast it with fire?" Sanji's frown deepened.

Before he could speak up, Krieg stood up from the rubble. "That's the best dessert you've got you lousy cook?!" Well, Sanji agreed with the lousy cook part. "Serving that pile of crap for dessert…this is the worst restaurant I've ever been to." The shirt Kreig had been wearing was gone now, leaving the gold armor he was wearing beneath it exposed for all to see.

Patty grabbed one of their pitchforks, prompting the rest of the chefs to do the same, and ran at Krieg. "That bastard and his fancy steel armor!  _Get him_!" Idiots. What did they think  _pitchforks_  would do against armor that could withstand a cannon? Rather than brush their attacks off like Sanji expected him to, Krieg pulled out two pistols, his armor opening up to reveal even more guns, and shot at the cooks rushing towards him. Sanji's eyes widened and his cigarette fell to the floor as his mouth did the same. That was  _way_  too many guns for one person to have!

"You damn worms think you can  _defy_  me?! I'm the strongest! This steel arm, more powerful than that of  _anyone_! This body of steel, tougher than anyone else's! And this diamond fist that can pulverize  _anything_! My entire body is a finely tuned weapon! I'm the fleet admiral of fifty ships and the commander of five thousand men! I've won every single battle I've been in! There is no other man more worthy of the title  _Don_  than I am! So if I tell you to prepare the food for my men,  _then you shut up and do it_! Nobody goes against Don Krieg!"

There was silence as the geezer threw down a large bag at the end of Krieg's rant. "There's enough food here for a hundred people. So hurry up and bring it to your men." Of  _course_  the geezer wait until  _now_  to get involved. The old shit probably finished preparing all that food when Patty had fired the cannon. He should have just stuffed the food into the bag and been done with it, but the geezer probably went and put them in individually.

"Sir! How could you give them the food! Just what's the meaning of this?!

"Once those pirates on that ship recover, they'll take over our restaurant!"

The geezer didn't bother turning to face the crappy cooks. "That's only if, they still have any fighting spirit left at all." The old man stared at Krieg. "Isn't that right, defeated warriors of the grand line?"

"W-What?! Don Krieg defeated?!"

"The strongest man of the East blue! The pirate fleet admiral of fifty ships!"

"Even  _he_  was utterly defeated by the grand line?!" Gin put his head in his hands, tears falling from his eyes. He was probably thinking about what they'd been through.

Krieg's eyes widened as he stared at the geezer. "You're… _red-leg Zeff_!" The pirate huffed. "So you were alive. The peerless captain and cook of his own pirate crew."

"So what if I'm alive? It's got nothing to do with you. As you can see, I'm living as a mere cook now." Sanji snorted quietly. He may not call himself a pirate anymore, but the geezer wasn't some  _mere cook_.

"Interesting to hear it put that way, but from the way I see it, you're not living as a cook by  _choice_ , but because that's the only thing you can do." Sanji frowned, gritting his teeth as he recalled how the old man had  _retired_  from piracy. "With the way you are now, you can't wear your infamous  _red shoes_. To speak of red-leg Zeff, is to speak of the master of kicking who refused to stain his hands in battle! The pirate whose destructive kicks could pulverize bedrock and leave a clear imprint even on  _steel_!" Sanji was willing to bet the geezer could still do it if he wanted to, but even if he couldn't, his kicks still hurt like hell. "Your nickname red-leg refers to your legs that would be dyed in the blood of your enemies after a fight." Or the blood of young boys whose cooking wasn't up to his standards or who talked back. "Though I've heard from rumors that you died during a shipwreck, it seems that you've managed to survive, though at the cost of one of your precious legs. With one of your legs gone, you shouldn't be able to fight anymore." Like the shitty geezer would let a missing leg stop him from beating the shit out of anyone who made him angry.

"I may not be able to fight anymore," fucking liar, "but I can still cook as long as I have these hands. But just what are you getting at exactly?"

"Red-leg Zeff, you're a man who once braved the waters of the devil's hideout, the grand line itself! Not only that, you returned without injury. You must've kept a long during your time in the grand line. So what I'm getting as it… _Hand over that log to me_!"

"You are certainly correct to assume that I kept a log, and I indeed have it to this day. But I won't hand it over to you. That log is the pride of me and my men who bravely ventured the grand line together. It's much too valuable to give to the likes of  _you_!"

"Then I'll just  _steal_  it from you! It's true that I came back defeated from the grand line, but even so, I'm still the mighty Don Krieg! That ocean shrouded by darkness, the mention of which alone cause weak men to tremble in their boots! I had enough power to conquer that sea! Enough man power! Enough ambition! The only think I lacked was information! That was my only flaw! I simple did not know enough…which is why I'll steal your travel log and this ship!"

This guy just  _loved_  hearing himself talk, didn't he? The rest of the crappy cooks in this place yelled at him about how they refused to let that happen, but he just kept going. "Silence! The difference in strength between you and I is clear as night and day! I even proved it to you just now! Don't you dare forget that I'm the strongest! Once I obtain Zeff's travel log, I'll reassemble my pirate fleet, and find the one piece to become the greatest pirate of this era!"

" _I'm_  the one who'll become the pirate king." Sanji blinked in surprise as Krieg turned. The annoying strawhat brat who wouldn't stop bugging him the past two days was standing there, arms crossed and frown on his face.

Krieg wasn't impressed. "Did you say something, little brat? I'll be nice enough to let your comment just now slide…" The kid's frown deepened and Sanji felt himself shiver and sweat at the same time. It was getting harder to breathe. Everyone was affected, but Krieg seemed to be having the hardest time. He fell to his knees as the kid walked forward, hat shadowing his eyes as he glared at the pirate.

"It doesn't matter if you believe me or not, but I  _will_  be the pirate king."

"Need a hand?" Sanji looked behind the kid and saw the green haired man, the long-nosed kid, and the beautiful young lady standing behind him, none of them looking worried.

The strawhat did didn't bother turning around. "It's fine. Go grab us a seat." The three nodded and headed inside while the kid grabbed Krieg by the neck of his armor. "They gave you your food, so take it and get out. I'm hungry and you're in the way." He tossed the larger man outside like he weighed nothing, shoving the bag of food towards Gin on his way to his friends.

"You damn  _brat_!" Krieg jumped to his feet and pulled out all his guns, pointing them at the kid. He didn't get a chance to fire, as Gin ran in front of him.

"Don Krieg, please! If we don't get this food to the ship our men will die!" Sanji grinned. He knew he liked Gin. Unfortunately, the one he called captain didn't care and brutally slammed him to the side, blood coming out of Gin's mouth. He aimed his guns at the strawhat kid again, but Sanji's eyes widened again when he saw the kid was gone. He was  _just_  there.

"Where did he…" His question was answered when Krieg was sent crashing to the ground hard enough to splinter the floor, the kid standing above him with his back to everyone else.

"A captain is supposed to  _protect_  his crew." The kids voice was soft, but the steel underlying it was enough to make a shudder run up his spine. He turned towards Gin, who was sitting up and staring at the scene like he couldn't understand what was happening. "Take the food back to your ship."

"D-Don…Krieg…" Gin didn't seem to know what to say besides that. He slowly stood up and took the bag of food, reaching for his captain as well, only for the kid to grab his wrist.

"Take the food and leave."

"My captain-!"

"Isn't fit to be called that. He put his pride before his crew. You said they were dying and he still refused to leave." The kid held up a fist, jabbing his thumb towards the geezer. "The restaurant will hand him in and collect on his bounty." The kid crossed his arms and cut off whatever Gin was about to say. "Are you going to stay here and let your crewmates die like he did?"

Gin grit his teeth, glaring at the strawhat kid. He looked away after a few seconds, heading for the door. "I'll be back for my captain."

Sanji couldn't believe it. This kid was so  _scrawny_ , but he was able to bring Krieg to his knees, lift him like he weighed nothing – even  _with_  that heavy armor – and laid him out with one punch. When Gin was gone, the kid turned towards them with a wide grin on his face. "I'm hungry! Old guy, make us some food!" Before anyone could say anything, the kid inexplicably raised his foot and brought it down on Krieg's head, sending the man's top half through the flooring. He happily walked over to his crew, ignoring all the gaping cooks, and getting a glare from the green haired male – although he was smiling, so the effect was ruined – who said, "Stop hogging all the action."

The long-nosed guy shook his head. "I don't mind if you hog it all."

The kid laughed. "Sorry."

The beautiful young woman was scowling. " _We_  should be the ones to turn in his bounty! Do you know how much he's  _worth_?"

"They need it to rebuild what that guy broke though!"

"So we can give them what they need and take the rest for ourselves!  _Seventeen million_! They don't need that much for repairs! Even just one million beli would be  _more_  than enough to cover the repairs  _and_  your food bill."

"Get back to work!" The geezer's shout made him – and the rest of the shitty cooks – jump. "We still have customers, so stop standing there like idiots and get back to work!"

The rest of the cooks took a second before they moved back towards the kitchen, still a little dazed from the events. Sanji stood up and slowly moved towards the small group laughing together. They all seemed so close. He wondered how long they'd been sailing together. The strawhat kid turned to him with a blinding smile, and Sanji sighed tiredly. "Ready to join my crew?"

"For the  _last time_ , I'm not joining your crew."

The kid's face fell and the other three actually  _glared_  at him. Normally the kid would refuse his refusal or laugh it off. This was different. And why the hell were the others mad at him? He'd been refusing for the past two days! "Forget about him Luffy, he's probably a shit cook anyway." Sanji's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

" _What_  did you say?"

The bastard  _smirked_. "I said your cooking probably  _sucks_. That's why you're never in the kitchen, isn't it?" This asshole was  _asking_  for a beating.

"Okay." Sanji frowned at the strawhat kid's quiet voice. "I get it. You don't wanna join. I give up."

There was a tug at the back of his collar and he turned, expecting to find the geezer or one of the chefs, but instead there was nothing. He frowned and turned further, eyes widening at the sight of a long arm trailing from the kid to the back of his collar. There was  _no way_  this kid's arm was that long. "What the  _hell_?!" He pulled on the hand, but only wound up choking himself. "What  _are_  you?!"

The other three at his table laughed while  _Luffy_  used his free hand to stretch out his cheek  _way_  further than any normal human could. "I ate a devil fruit, and now I'm a rubber man!"

"Let  _go_  of me damn it!"

"Not until you join my crew!"

Sanji kicked the teen as hard as he could, annoyed when the little shit just laughed it off. "You just said you'd given up!"

"I changed my mind!" Before Sanji could say anything, Luffy let go and he and the green haired bastard stood up, turning towards the door with serious expressions on their faces. Frowning, Sanji turned as well, but didn't see anything. He opened his mouth to ask, but the restaurant suddenly surged and he went sprawling.

"What the  _hell_  was that?!" Jumping to his feet, he ran outside along with the others and his jaw dropped at the sight of Krieg's ship broken in half and sinking. The men on board were either holding on for dear life or jumping – some falling – overboard.

"RAISE THE ANCHOR! OR THIS SHIP'S GONNA GET DRAGGED UNDER!" The geezer's voice was ringing out from inside, with the rest of the cooks yelling back in answer. Sanji glanced to the side as the old man came to stand next to him. "That man is…" Sanji frowned at the muttered words but didn't get a chance to question it as the crew on the ship started shouting something about the man who destroyed their fleet.

"He's…the one who sank a fleet of fifty ships?!" Patty sounded both awed and scared.

"Then…then he's the one who destroyed Krieg's ship just now?!"

"He looks like any normal guy…and it doesn't seem like he's carrying any special weapon."

The geezer crossed his arms. "If you're looking for his weapon, then it's on his back." Sanji's eyes widened as he looked at the man in the small boat. He'd destroyed that huge ship with just one sword? "That  _'Hawk-eyed'_  man is a renowned swordsman. More renowned than any other swordsman in this world. Hawk-eyes Mihawk."

* * *

Zoro felt his heart race as he watched Mihawk deflect the bullets. He barely had grasp of haki, but even he could tell this guy was strong. Strong enough to cut a huge ship in half with one swing. Strong enough to sail alone in one tiny ship. Strong enough to be known as the world greatest swordsman.

Stronger than Zoro was now.

He gripped his swords, hands shaking. He'd searched the entire East Blue for this man and was headed for the grand line to search for him as well, but here he was. This was the man he had promised to surpass. This was his goal. He might never get another chance if he let Mihawk get away here.

But he could clearly tell this man was stronger than him. He didn't know by how much, but he knew if he fought the world's greatest as he was now, he would lose. Even still…

Zoro looked over at Luffy. His captain seemed to know what he was thinking. Luffy's face was neutral, but his hands were clenched tightly on his biceps and his jaw was tense. He nodded slightly, and Zoro remembered what he'd told his captain when he'd agreed to join. If Luffy ever stood in the way of his dream, he'd have him apologize at the end of his sword. So even though his captain didn't want him to, he wasn't going to stop him. Zoro felt immense gratitude and respect for his captain in that moment. He gave Luffy a grin. "Once you get that shitty cook to join us, let's head to the grand line."

Luffy's grin was as bright as normal, and Zoro couldn't help but feel confidence rush through him. Even if he lost here, he wouldn't die. He turned and headed towards the destroyed ship, coming to a stop in front of Mihawk's small boat. "I've never seen such graceful movements."

Mihawk sheathed his sword, barely paying him any attention. He didn't see Zoro as a threat at all. "A sword without grace is no strong sword."

"You cut this ship as well with that sword?"

"Indeed."

Zoro grinned, sweat forming slightly at the aftermath of the powerful display. "No wonder…you really are the  _strongest_." Taking his bandana off his arm, he started to tie it around his head. "I set said to meet you!"

Mihawk stared at him from the corner of his eyes. "What do you aim for?"

Tightening the knot, he answered. "To be the strongest." Pulling out one of his swords, he aimed it at the man before him. "You said you're free, right? So let's have a duel."

"Pitiful weakling." Mihawk jumped from his small boat to the ruined deck Zoro was on. "If you're a competent swordsman by any means, then I can demonstrate the clear difference in strength between you and I without needing to cross blades at all. But still, you dare to challenge me. Does your bravery come from conviction, or from ignorance?"

"It comes from my ambition, and a promise to a friend." Zoro pull out the Wado Ichimonji and put it in his mouth before pulling out his third. "To be honest, I never thought I'd be able to meet you so early on."

"A waste, if you ask me." Mihawk pulled off his necklace and pulled off the bottom of the cross, revealing a dagger. "Though you may be a swordsman of renown, this is the East Blue, the weakest of the four seas that are separated by the red line and the grand line. Unfortunately, I do not have a blade small than this one at the moment." Zoro felt a blow to his pride, yet he refused to back down. He needed to do this. He needed to see how he stacked up against the world's greatest – to see how far he'd come and how much further he needed to go.

He didn't respond, getting into his stance and crossing his arms over his chest. "Oni… _giri_!" His eyes widened as Mihawk stopped his attack in one go, right as his three swords crossed. He put all his strength into the attack, yet Mihawk barely seemed to break a sweat as he kept his swords from moving an inch – and he was only holding the dagger with three fingers!

Pulling back far enough to free his blades, Zoro narrowed his eyes. The gap between then was much bigger than he'd anticipated. Anger welled up inside him. He'd trained so hard, yet he was still  _this_  far behind?! Taking a breath, he concentrated solely on Mihawk before moving forward to attack once again. Mihawk blocked or dodged every strike, pushing him back each time he came forward.

"What burdens you so? What do you still desire at the extent of your strength  _weakling_?" Zoro climbed back to his feet once more, getting back to his feet.

"Tora…" He moved forward, eyes widening as the dagger plunged into his chest. Blinking, Zoro broke his technique and moved the katana in his right hand to block the strike. Mihawk's eyes widened slightly when his dagger met steel instead of flesh. A spark of interest entered his eyes and Zoro grinned around the hilt of the Wado Ichimonji.

"It seems you do possesses at least  _some_  skill, weakling. Surely you can tell the difference between us. Why do you still fight, knowing you cannot beat me?"

Zoro readied for another attack as he answered. "I swore a promise that I would one day become the world's greatest swordsman."

"That day is not today."

"Even still, I get the feeling that if I didn't take this chance, the promise that I made would be irreversibly broken, and I'd never be able to return to where I'm standing right now."

"Even if it means you die?"

"I'd much rather die!" His captain said it before. A promise is something you make only when you're willing to die to see it through. Zoro would rather die to see the promise he made fulfilled than lose this chance.

Mihawk returned the dagger to its sheath and placed it back around his neck. "Tell me your name."

"Roronoa Zoro." He held the katana in his left hand at a downwards angle, placing his right hand on top.

"I shall remember it, for your strength is not oft seen in this world." Zoro's grin widened as Mihawk pulled out the blade on his back. "To pay my respect to you as a fellow swordsman, I shall end this duel with my black sword, the world's strongest sword." Mihawk charged.

"Three sword style secret technique…" He spun the katanas in his hands. " _Sanzen Sekai_!" The two katana he held shattered at Mihawk's swing. Zoro dropped the hilts and sheathed the Wado Ichimonji, glad it was still intact. Mihawk readied for the final strike, and Zoro turned to face him, spreading his arms wide. He grinned at the shocked look on the other's face. "A wound on one's back is the shame of a swordsman."

Mihawk looked pleased. "Splendid." He slashed with his sword, cutting Zoro from his left shoulder down to his right hip. Blood splattered from his mouth and the pain was worse than any he'd encountered, yet he prided himself on not screaming. He fell backwards, grip on the Wado Ichimonji loosening as the world turned black.

He came to on the deck of a boat, gasping for breath as he spat out a combination of water and blood. "I am Dracule Mihawk! It is much too early for you to die! Know thy self! Know they world! And become strong Roronoa! No matter how many months or years pass by, I shall stand here at the top of the world and wait for you! SO FORGE ON AHEAD WITH THAT FIERCE CONVICTION AND TRY TO SURPASS MY SWORD! SURPASS ME, RORONOA!"

Zoro grinned slightly. He wasn't going to die. Not today. Grasping for the Wado Ichimonji, he unsheathed it and held it aloft. "L-Luffy." He hated how weak his voice sounded. "C…can you hear me?" He waited for the confirmation before continuing. "Sorry for worrying you…I know…that if I don't become…the world's strongest swordsman…it will only…embarrass you…" He coughed up more blood, gritting his teeth at the new wave of pain before continuing. "I'm never going to lose again! Until the day I fight him and win…I  _promise_  to never lose again! Any problems? Pirate king?!"

* * *

Nami stared at the money for Krieg's bounty for a few moments, still in disbelief that it was real. Added to what she'd taken from the Buggy pirates and from the Black Cat pirates, and added all that to what she already had, and it was  _more_  than enough to buy back her village. Eight years.  _Eight years_  she'd been forced to draw maps for him and his crew. Eight years of pain and suffering. Eight years since Bellemere had died.

It was finally coming to an end. She'd been worried when Gin had come back for his captain once Mihawk had left after nearly  _killing_  Zoro. She didn't know what the idiot had been thinking, challenging the world's greatest swordsman like that. The man had  _sliced a Galleon in half_  for heaven's sake. She'd been mad at Luffy for refusing to stop them, but he'd just quietly told her Zoro was trying to fulfil a promise. She knew how seriously Luffy took promises and hadn't been able to say anything else about it.

It had taken another day before the marines had shown up for Krieg. They'd handed over the money to Zeff, who'd tossed it to Luffy, saying he'd been the one to take Krieg down, so it was his. Luffy had taken out a stack and tossed that to Zeff for the damages as well as their tab and given the rest to her.

She felt tears running down her cheeks as she clutched the money. She could finally be  _free._  "Nami?"

Wiping her eyes, she looked up at Luffy and Usopp's worried faces with a wide smile. "Thank you!" She wiped her eyes and looked towards the strawhatted teen. "Luffy…can we make a detour before we head to the grand line?"

He frowned in confusion, tilting his head a little. "Sure? Where're we going?"

Holding the briefcase in one hand, she reached up and covered her left shoulder where Arlong's tattoo was. The second she handed over the money she was getting rid of it. "I have some business to take care of at home first."

* * *

 **Not sure how I feel about Zoro and Mihawk's duel. Zoro** _needed_ **it to happen in order to get stronger, but since I had him awaken his observation haki (even though it's still weak and needs more training) he could tell Mihawk was strong. I know he** _knew_ **Mihawk was strong, but in the manga and anime he didn't realize how far behind he was. In this, with haki (which I'm still working on getting down, so if it's wrong then oh well) he can truly** _sense_ **how strong Mihawk is. There's a difference between knowing something and** _really knowing_ **something. And even still, Zoro couldn't tell how much stronger Mihawk was compared to him, just that he was, indeed, stronger. I also really like the dialogue between them, so I wanted to keep it similar, but since Zoro had to go and _block_ the strike aimed at his heart, I had to improvise a bit.**

**And Nami's still here! She still hasn't told them what's going on, but she's trusting Luffy for now, and it got her Krieg's bounty (well, most of it), which helps her reach her goal of one million. In the manga she says she only needs seven million more, and now she has a little over sixteen million, which puts her over her goal.**

**Unfortunately, this was not the original plan, so I don't know what to do with Arlong. I have an idea, but we'll see if it plays out like that. And Sanji still hasn't agreed to join yet.**

**As for the first part with Nami and Luffy, no I'm not going to pair them together. I'm not writing any pairings for this story. If you interpret it that way, go right ahead, but just not nothing gonna happen in this story. What I** _will_ **say, however, is that there will be more physical affection between the crew in my story. Why? Because I can. I like the idea of Luffy being physically affectionate with the people he cares about, more so now that there aren't as many left (though that number is happily growing as he adds crewmates). And I might be wrong, but I've always thought that Luffy's been pretty in tune with other people's emotions. Don't know why, but I'm making it so in this story, which is why he notices when something's wrong with Nami. If Usopp and Zoro overhear their conversation, they don't say a word. They know it's private.**

 **But man, this chapter was** _long_ **. And Krieg talks a** _lot_ **. I also like Gin, so no MH5 or whatever to nearly kill him. As for what happened to him in this story - Luffy knocked him out and sent him and whatever pirates survived Mihawk drifting out on a ship (with food, courtesy of Sanji). I don't know how people turn in bounties in One Piece, but I'm gonna pretend Zeff calls the marines and they come with the seventeen million and only pay it once they confirm it really is Krieg.**

**That's it for now. Let me know what you thought and any questions you might have! Thanks for reading!**

**~Akirafanatic**


	9. Chapter 9

Sanji stared at the waves, smoke lazily trailing towards the sky. So much had happened, and even though he'd watched it, he still couldn't believe it. He glanced to the side as Luffy sat next to him. "My crew and I are leaving here soon. Sure you don't wanna-"

"I ain't gonna be a pirate. I'm gonna stay here and be a cook. Until the day that damn geezer acknowledges my cooking." He sighed. "If you hadn't stepped in, who knows what would have happened. The cooks here are completely undependable, so this ship probably would have been taken over. I  _do_  wanna go to the grand line one of these days."

Luffy perked up. "Let's go now!"

"Not just yet though." He thought of the cruise ship he used to work on, grinning as he remembered the stories they used to tell him. "Hey…do you know about the all blue?"

The kid blinked. "No."

"What? You've  _never_  heard of the ocean of miracles? Well you see, the All Blue is every cooks  _dream_! It's a place where fish from every ocean come together. Fish from the north blue, the south blue, the east blue, and the west blue!"

Luffy's eyes widened and he grinned, a bit of drool leaking out. "That sounds  _awesome_!"

"It is! A sea like that  _has_  to be somewhere on the grand line! One day, I'm going to go out and  _find_  it!" He was going to keep going, but Patty's voice rang out from inside, telling them the food was ready. Standing, he tilted his head towards the door. "Let's go."

Jumping to his feet, Luffy followed. "Hey Sanji," He paused and turned back to look at the kid, finding a smile – just a bright as his normal ones yet somehow softer as well – directed at him. "Tell me more about the All Blue someday."

Sanji smiled and nodded. He opened the door to the dinning room and frowned. "Where's our seats?" He knew they had plenty of chairs for everyone, yet all the tables set up were full and there were no empty seats left.

Luffy poked his head in. "Where's the food?"

One of the cooks snorted as he ate. "Ain't no chairs for you."

The one next to him laughed. "Just eat on the floor!" He jerked a thumb to the side and Sanji looked over, finding the rest of Luffy's crew already there – even the green haired idiot, who should have been resting his injuries – sitting on the ground with some food.

He grit his teeth and glared at the rest of the cooks. "How dare you treat a lady like this!" The beautiful young woman shouldn't be forced to eat on the floor!

"It's fine Sanji!" His anger deflated at the sound of her voice, heart thumping loudly at the sight of her smile. He reluctantly took his tray and followed Luffy over to the others, joining their little circle.

He barely managed to take a bite before Patty stood up and demanded to know who was in charge of making the soup. Grinning, Sanji raised his hand. "That'd be me! Pretty good right? I made it especially g-"

"HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO EAT THIS CRAP?!" He smashed the bowl onto the ground, the soup splattering all over. "WHAT IS THIS, PIG FEED?!" Sanji felt his anger return full force and stood up. Not only had this bastard insulted his cooking, he'd also wasted some of it!

"Does proper human food not suit you, you dam racoon?"

"Ha! This is pure  _crap_  of the highest quality! Makes me wanna puke! Did you put actual shit in this or  _what_?!"

"I'm perfectly confident about my soup. Maybe it's your damn tongue that's-" He was cut off as the rest of the cooks started gagging and spitting out mouthfuls of his soup, going as far as  _dumping_  what they had onto the ground. "WHAT THE  _HELL_  DO YOU THINK YOU'RE ALL DOING?!" His soup was delicious! How  _dare_  the waste it like this!

Patty crossed his arms and smirked at him. "You being the assistant head chef was always just a sham! It's only because you've been here the longest! I'm sick of your violent ways."

"If something tastes bad, then it's my right to say it's bad."

Sanji heard a crack as he clenched his jaw even tighter. "What did you-" The sound of a dish breaking had him turning. "Geezer!" The old man had tossed his bowl onto the ground.

"What's with this disgusting soup? Is it supposed to taste like sludge or what?! We'd go out of business if we served this to the customers!"

Sanji gripped the front of the old shit's coat. "Don't joke with me you damn geezer! How's this any different from the soup you make?! Well?! Speak up!"

"The soup I make?" Sanji grunted at the hit, crashing to the floor. "Don't get cocky! It's a hundred years too early for a lil' eggplant like you to be comparing my soup with yours! I've cooked all around the world!"

Sanji held his cheek where he'd been punched.  _Punched_. The geezer always  _kicked_  him. He'd never use his hands to fight before. Glaring at the old shit, he got up and stormed out the door. " _DAMN IT_!" He sat outside the door, lighting a new cigarette and clenching his head in his hands.

"The soups pretty good if you ask me!" He let go of his head at the sound of Luffy's voice. At least  _someone_  had good taste.

"It's delicious!" He knew the beautiful young woman had good taste.

"It's some of the best I've ever tasted!" Even the long-nosed guy knew what he was talking about.

There was a bit of silence before the shitty cooks started talking. "Yeah, we know."

"That was scary. He sure was  _mad_."

"Everyone here knows how good Sanji's cooking is." The geezer actually sounded  _proud_. "But if we didn't do that, that idiot would never listen to us. Hey kid, would you mind…taking that lil' eggplant with you? Take him to the grand line. It's his dream." Sanji's eyes widened and he brought his knees up, resting his forehead on them as the cooks all started yelling about how they wanted more of his soup.

"I can hear you…you bastards…"

"Take Sanji along?" He rested his head against the door. Just what Luffy wanted. "Don't wanna." He blinked in surprise. The kid had been  _begging_  him to join every day for the past  _four_  days! Why the hell was he resisting  _now_?

"What's the meaning of this? Didn't you want a cook for your ship?! What, are you not satisfied with him?"

"No, it's not like I'm dissatisfied or anything. I do want him to come along with me, but he said he wants to stay here and be a cook." So the idiot  _did_  listen. "So even if you tell me to take him with me, I'm not gonna."

"So you won't accept unless he says it himself?"

"Yup. More soup."

"…Well, you do have a good point. But the problem is whether that rebellious brat will be honest with himself or not. It's impossible! He's too hard headed for his own good."

"More soup." Sanji slumped slightly. The stupid old geezer.

"Why don't you just tell him that?" The young woman's voice was music to his ears.

"You don't think I tried? That brat thinks he has to stay here because of what happened in the past. He has some misguided sense of debt. He's too stubborn to realize the best way to repay me is to go out and chase his dream." Sanji squeezed his eyes shut, holding back his tears.

"You can try telling him now. He's been waiting outside the door this whole time." Sanji jumped. How the  _hell_  had Luffy known he was there? He tilted his head back and looked up when the door opened, meeting the geezer's gaze.

"So…you wanted to kick me out that badly, huh? Is that right, you damn geezer?"

The geezer huffed. "That's exactly right, lil' eggplant. I've always hated brats. There hasn't been a single day when I didn't regret saying a brat like you."

"Ha…whatever you say, geezer. Enjoy the few years you have left." Standing up, he turned towards Luffy and his crew. "I give up. I'll be the cook for your ship."

* * *

Luffy stared at the destroyed village in silence as they passed by. "That was Gosa." He glanced towards Nami who was shaking, her right hand clutching he left shoulder so hard her knuckles were white. Sanji was next to her, with Zoro on his left and Usopp next to him. "This is what Arlong does when someone goes against him or can't pay their  _tribute_."

"Tribute?" Usopp asked.

"It's money everyone is forced to pay every month. They have to buy their lives – adults, kids, doesn't matter. If even  _one_  person can't pay it, Arlong will destroy the entire village. He's going to use that money to turn the whole East Blue into the  _Arlong Empire_."

"But that would include my hometown too!"

Zoro smacked the back of Usopp's head. "That would mean  _all_  our hometowns."

"So what's the plan?" Sanji took one last drag of his cigarette before flicking it into the ocean and pulling out a new one.

Nami folded her arms. "We'll dock at Cocoyashi and pick up all the beli I have saved. We'll bring it to Arlong Park and I'll buy back my village and cut ties with Arlong before heading to the grand line."

Zoro tapped the hilt of his sword. "Even if you buy back your village, what's to stop Arlong from destroying it or just taking it over again?"

Usopp frowned. "And what about the rest of our hometowns? If we don't do anything he'll take them over as well!"

"What else  _can_  we do?! Arlong is a  _fishman_! His bounty is twenty million! That's three million more than Krieg!"

"Don't worry Nami-swan! I'll protect you!"

"Luffy?" He glanced towards Zoro. "You're the captain. What do you want to do?"

He put his hand on his hat, tilting it down over his eyes as he remembered the burning and the screams. He remembered the pain of watching the people he cared about die. Dadan and the bandits drowning in lava, their screams worse than anything he'd heard before. Makino crying as she tried to reach for him, falling to the ground of the boat as a bullet tore through her instead.

"Luffy?" Usopp's voice was worried.

He remembered waking up and wishing he hadn't. He remembered the way the ground tore at his fingers as he slowly dug the graves. He let go of his hat and clutched at the wound on his chest as he remembered the pain tearing at him as he kept going – pushing himself when he should have been resting. He remembered the helpless feeling washing over him when he realized there was nothing he could do because he was too  _weak_. He was  _always_  too weak. First with Sabo, then with Dadan and Makino. Too weak to save them.

"Luffy?" Sanji's voice was confused.

He wasn't weak anymore. He'd gotten stronger. Stronger, and stronger, and stronger, and  _stronger_. Strong enough to protect the people he cared about. Nobody was ever going to take away one of him precious people again. He wasn't going to lose anyone else. He wouldn't let his friends go through the same pain of losing the people they loved as he had.

"Luffy?" Nami placed a hand on his arm, and he looked at her. She'd lost enough already.

Taking a deep breath, he forced the memories away and turned from the destroyed town. "If this Arlong guy wants to take over the East Blue, he's going to have to go through  _me_  first."

* * *

Nami felt like he world was crashing down around her. Just when she'd managed to collect all the money she needed,  _this_  happened. She fell to her knees and squeezed her eyes shut, hands balling into fists. "Genzo…" First Bellemere, and now Genzo. How many more people did Arlong need to take from her before he was satisfied? Why couldn't he have waited just a little longer? Just one more day and she would have been there with the money. One more day and they would have been free.

"He's not dead yet, right?" She looked up at Luffy, his face unreadable.

Nojiko wiped her eyes. "No, but his chances aren't good. Arlong practically broke his neck. The doctor is surprised he managed to survive in the first place."

Luffy reached up and took off his straw hat, placing it on Nami's head. "He hasn't given up his will to live yet. Wait until he's dead to mourn him."

Tears started falling from her eyes as she reached up and gripped the rim of the old hat. It was just an old hat, but it made her feel better. Like nothing bad was going to happen anymore. "Luffy…can you beat him?" He nodded. Her lower lip trembled. "I don't want him to hurt anyone else. Please…help me…"

He smiled gently and turned towards the others. "Let's go." Nami watched as they left, still clutching onto the strawhat she'd been entrusted with. Arlong was a fishman. No human could beat him. She'd always believed that. But watching Luffy and the others march away to confront him, she couldn't help but feel that they could do it.  _I'm strong._  Luffy's words rang in her mind. Wiping her eyes, she forced herself to her feet and ran after them. She wasn't going to wallow in pity and grief while they went to fight the monster that had tormented her for the past eight years.

She was weak compared to Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, but that didn't mean she was useless. She would confront her demons, and she would finally break free of her chains.

* * *

Zoro and the others stopped a few feet from the large doors, letting their captain walk the rest of the way on his own. Pulling back his fist, Luffy braced himself before throwing it forward as hard as he could, sending the doors crashing inside. Zoro silently raised an eyebrow. Luffy hadn't even used that haki stuff that made him stronger. That was pure strength right there. "Who's the one, called Arlong?"

A fishman sitting in a large chair answered. "Arlong? That would be my name…"

"I'm Luffy." His captain continued walking forward, heading straight for Arlong.

"Luffy? I see…and just what the hell are you?"

"A pirate." Two other fishmen tried to stop Luffy, but his captain just bashed their skulls together and kept going.

"What does a pirate want with me?"

Rather than answer, Luffy pulled back his fist and punched Arlong hard enough to send him crashing through the back wall. He glanced to his side when Nami's breath hitched, finding her eyes wide before a small smile came over her face. Zoro couldn't see Luffy's face, but he could feel his captain's anger rolling off him in waves. "Don't you  _dare_ , make my navigator cry!" Nami looked close to tears again, but she managed to hold them in and her smile widened.

Zoro turned away and rushed towards his captain along with the idiot cook as the rest of the fishmen charged, Usopp and Nami behind them. He wasn't as good at using a single sword, but he was good enough to stop these weaklings. He knocked his captain on the back of the head with his sword sheath. "What did I tell you about leaving some for me?"

"You're still hurt. I can take these guys."

"That's not the point dumbass." He glanced at the shitty cook. "We're your crew. Moss head might be too weak to fight, but I ain't. So don't try and hog all the glory to yourself."

"What was that you crappy cook?" Zoro's eyebrow twitched. Who the hell was he calling  _moss head_?

Swirly brow glared at him. "I said you're useless here you cripple."

Pain suddenly blossomed on the back of his head and he turned to glare at Nami. "Both of you shut up!"

Arlong sat up from the rubble. "Pirates huh…I see…so that's how you're all related." He slowly stood up again. "So your goal from the very beginning, was only to get Nami, is that it?" He started laughing, and Zoro noticed Nami tensed at the sound. " _Just what could you measly humans do_?!"

The octopus guy glared at them all and put his hand around his long mouth. "You idiots! As if Arlong would fight the likes of you! I'll turn you all into fish food! Come out, beast!" He made a noise like a trumpet and Zoro turned towards the water along with the others as it started moving. "Come out, Mohmoo!"

A large sea monster that looked like a cow rose out of the water. Zoro readied his sword as the cow made to lunge at them, but Luffy held his hand out in a silent command for him to stop. His captain glared at the sea monster. "Get lost." His voice was quiet, but there was an undertone of steel that left no room for disagreement. The cow started sweating before it slowly backed up, turned around, and promptly fainted. All the fishmen were silent, their eyes disbelieving at what had just happened. "Zoro, take out the underlings and then protect Nami."

He frowned. He was fine. "Luffy-"

"You're hurt. Fighting someone strong could reopen your wound." Zoro grit his teeth but consented. His captain sent him a small smile. "I'll make sure to save you someone stronger to fight next time." He pulled out his staff and assembled it before holding it out to Nami. "Your wooden one won't do much here. Use mine for now."

She hesitated. "What about you?"

Luffy's grin didn't have a trace of it's normal warmth as he smile at her. "I'll be fine." Nami slowly nodded and let her wooden staff fall to the ground before she wrapped her hands around Luffy's. Her eyes widened and she nearly dropped it when he let go. Zoro could see her arms shaking slightly as she lifted it. "Is it too heavy?"

Nami grit her teeth and shook her head. "If it's only for a little bit, I can handle it." Luffy nodded and turned his attention back to Arlong.

Zoro took note of their surroundings and frowned. With enemies all around and only one sword, it'd be harder to protect Nami in their current position. He looked around for a better vantage point and quietly nudged their navigator. "When they attack, we'll make our way to the gates." It would make sure the fishmen couldn't attack from behind while also making sure they couldn't escape that way. Nami nodded just as the fishmen regained their bearings and charged.

Zoro fought them off as he and Nami made their way to the gates. The navigator was stumbling as she swung Luffy's staff, but she managed to stay on her feet. Those she hit either took a while to get up or stayed down. He was actually a little impressed. She was stronger than she looked. With the right amount of training, she could become a decent fighter.

It wasn't long, however, before she started to tire and her hits became sloppy and weak. He took down the opponent in front of him and blocked a strike aimed at her head. "Damn annoying pests. If I had my other two swords I could have finished them all by now."

"Zoro, cover me for a second!" He frowned but did as asked. He kept one eye on her as he fought and grinned when he saw her going for one of the downed fishman's swords. "Here!" He happily caught them and placed his Wado Ichimonji in his mouth. He prepared one of his three sword style techniques just as Usopp ran by screaming. One of the stronger fishmen was chasing him but paused as he caught sight of Nami. The fishman didn't get a chance to say anything before he was hit with a miniature explosion that did nothing but piss him off further, chasing after the long-nose and threatening murder.

He didn't have time to worry about that as the rest of the fishmen charged. He got back into his stance and readied his swords. "Tatsu… _Maki_!" The fishmen surrounding them were caught up in the whirlwind, cuts forming along their bodies as they were carried away. He stayed on guard in case any of them got back up but clicked his tongue in disappointment when they didn't so much as twitch. He dropped the two borrowed swords and sheathed the Wado Ichimonji as a new wave of pain from the wound Mihawk had given him rose up. His vision blurred slightly and he leaned his weight against the intact part of the wall, sliding down to sit for a while.

"I  _knew_  you weren't as healed as you made it seem!" Nami pulled back the top of his shirt and gently laid her hand against his chest. He grunted, but was thankful she didn't slap it. "I think that attack took them all out, so just stay here and rest for a bit. Sanji's dealing with Kuroobi, and Usopp lead Chuu somewhere. Hachi was taken out, but I didn't see who did it, and you took out everyone else."

"Where's Luffy?"

Nami turned her gaze towards the large tower. "Luffy threw him into the building earlier, and they're still inside. I don't know what's happening."

Zoro frowned as something came flying out of the top of the building. "The hell is that?" He squinted. "A desk?" He glanced at Nami. She was staring up at the falling desk with wide eyes.

"Luffy…?" There was another crash and more things came flying out of the tower. Broken furniture smashed into the ground or went crashing into the water while paper was blown all over by the wind. He didn't get it, but Nami fell to her knees and put one hand over her mouth, tears leaking from her eyes. There was a pause in the random things being thrown out of the room before something came flying out of the top of the tower, knocking the flag to the ground.

Zoro had a feeling of dread. "Oh crap." He struggled to his feet, grabbing Nami and hauling her up too. "We gotta get out of here." He ran for the exit, thankful he'd chosen a location close to it, just as the building cracked. When it started coming down, he shoved Nami to the ground and landed on top of her, shielding her from any debris. He grunted in pain as a large chunk landed on his lower back, but didn't move until the sound of the building collapsing stopped.

Pushing himself to his feet, he turned towards the destroyed building. For a moment, there was no movement, but eventually Luffy stood up from the wreckage. He was covered in a layer of dirt and dust, and his shirt was ripped a little around his left side, but other than that he didn't appear to be injured at all. "NAMI!" Zoro glanced at their navigator. "YOU'RE MY CREWMATE, GOT IT?!" She started crying, a large smile on her face, as she nodded.

* * *

Luffy couldn't help but laugh at the face Zoro was making. Even though he'd only let Zoro fight the weak members, he'd still managed to pull a few of his stitches. The doctor was lecturing him and telling him how lucky he was he hadn't caused more damage than he did. "Don't you all have a  _doctor_  on your ship?"

"A doctor? That's a good idea. But we need a musician first."

Nami groaned while Usopp sighed. Sanji just lit another cigarette. Zoro barked out a laugh. "Why's that?"

"Because pirates gotta sing, you know."

The doctor finished up with Zoro and turned to him. "Alright boy, don't think I didn't see those wounds of yours. Take your shirt off and let me see how bad it is."

Luffy blinked and tilted his head. Wounds? He thought back to his fight before smacking his fist onto his palm. "Oh yeah, that shark guy bit me." He forgot. "I'm okay. I just need some meat and I'll be good as new!"

The doctor frowned at him. "That's not how it works! Even if they don't need stitches you should at least bandage them so they don't get infected! Take off your shirt and let me see."

Luffy shrugged and started undoing the buttons on his vest. Makino had always told him to listen to what the doctor says. This one was ripped anyway. He tossed it on the back of the chair he was sitting on and turned to the doctor, frowning when he didn't move. "I thought you were gonna look at the bite mark."

Zoro let out a grunt. "And I thought  _my scar_  looked bad."

"How are you still alive?" Luffy looked down and absently traced the scar on his chest. It was a reminder of everything he'd lost, and a reminder of the promise he'd sworn. If he ever crossed paths with that magma bastard again, he'd pay him back for everything he did.

"Luffy?" Coming out of his thoughts, he looked up. His crewmates were staring at him and his scar with a mixture of worry and sadness. "What…what happened?"

Luffy put his right hand on top of his hat, sliding it forward enough to cover his eyes. "I told you. My village was destroyed. Everyone was killed." He stood up and grabbed his vest, shrugging it back on and redoing the buttons as he made his way towards the exit. He'd be fine even without the bandages. Besides, he could smell something  _delicious_  outside and he was  _starving_.

* * *

Usopp stared at the flyer that had fallen out of the newspaper. He blinked and rubbed his still burning eyes, sure he was seeing things. Reopening them, he focused back on the flier. Still the same. Nami seemed to have shut down, her stare vacant and her mouth moving up and down with no words coming out.

Sanji took a drag of his cigarette, one eyebrow raised. Zoro wasn't around – probably off sleeping somewhere. Luffy was, of course,  _happy_. He laughed as he held up the wanted poster. "We're wanted men now!" Usopp supposed it could be worse – the picture didn't really show Luffy's face. Just a side view of him laughing. It wasn't even the side with Luffy's scar under his eye. It could be  _anyone_  on that poster – so long as they had black hair, a large smile, and a strawhat. There was nothing – besides the hat – that was defining.

They didn't even have his name on the poster. It was just labeled  _strawhat_.

Nami jerked a little as she came back to herself, snatching the poster from Luffy's hands and scanning it frantically. "It's real…" She fell back against the lounge chair she'd been resting in. "It's really real."

"All right! Let's head straight for the grand line!"

Usopp backed away as Nami shot to her feet and grasped Luffy's vest. "What did you do?" Luffy tilted his head in confusion. "What did you  _do_?!" She waved her hand in the direction the wanted poster had fallen. "There's  _no way_  the marines would put a price  _that high_  on your head for defeating a few strong pirates!  _What did you do_?!"

Luffy frowned in concentration as he thought. "I kicked that shark guy's ass…"

"You also beat Don Krieg," Usopp supplied.

"And Buggy," Nami added, letting Luffy go.

Zoro ambled over and sat against the railing, picking up the wanted poster and whistling slightly. "There was also that butler guy."

"But the marines thought he was dead." Nami held a fist to her forehead, thinking.

Usopp and the others looked to Luffy, whose face was starting to turn red. "There was that fat lady too…Coby said she was a pirate…"

Nami started ticking off her fingers. "Arlong, Krieg, Kuro, Buggy, and some other pirate."

"Don't forget about that marine base."

Usopp turned to Zoro. "What marine base?"

"There was a corrupt marine captain at a base, and Luffy kicked his ass and partly destroyed their base. May have killed the captain's bastard son too."

He paled. Luffy had killed someone? He knew the rubbery teen was a pirate, and his strength was terrifying, but Usopp couldn't see him actually  _killing_  anyone.

Sanji pulled out his cigarette and blew a stream of smoke. "What's the big deal? He took out basically every major player in the East Blue and got a high bounty for it."

Nami glared at him. "The average bounty for the East Blue is  _three million_. Even taking out all the high-ranking pirates here wouldn't warrant a bounty  _this_  high! I've  _never_  heard of a starting bounty being so high!" She rounded on Luffy, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Tell me  _everything_  you did since you set out to be a pirate."

Luffy sat on the ground, arms folded over his chest. "I left my island and punched the Lord of the Coast before hiding in a barrel because my boat got sucked into a whirlpool." Usopp felt a headache coming on already. What was a  _Lord of the Coast_  and  _how_  did Luffy manage to get himself sucked into a whirlpool? "I woke up on another ship and found Coby and the fat lady. Coby and I took a small boat and found Zoro. I punched a marine and we left."

Zoro snorted but didn't say anything as Luffy continued. "I tried to eat a bird but the bird almost ate me. Someone shot me with a cannonball and I found Nami."

Nami held up her hand to stop him. "You then beat Buggy, and then Kuro, the Krieg, and then Arlong." She rubbed her temples.

Usopp propped his chin in his hand. "What about before you left?" Everyone turned to him. "Did you do anything before you left?"

Luffy paused for a second before he started sweating. He averted his eyes and laughed nervously. "Nope. Nothing. Not a thing." Usopp just stared for a bit, because  _really_? He was so obviously lying that it hurt to watch.

"Luffy." Nami's voice was frosty and the rubber teen sucked his lips in, refusing to meet her eyes. "What did you do?"

Luffy squirmed under everyone's stares. He looked like a child in trouble with their parents. Finally he mumbled out, "I didn't mean to…"

Nami took a deep breath and held it for a moment before letting it out slowly. "Didn't mean to do  _what_?"

Luffy played with his fingers. "I went to town to get some stuff I needed."

There was a moment of silence. " _And_?"

"I…overheard some of the nobles saying things about my village…"

Usopp's eyes drifted towards the terrible scar hidden under Luffy's shirt. Sanji took another drag of his cigarette. "So what happened?"

"I dumped all the trash they threw out into the streets when everyone went to sleep."

Zoro snorted and started laughing. "That's it? You dumped a bunch of  _trash_  in the street?"

Luffy laughed as well, but there was still the undertone of nervousness to it. "Yeah…"

Usopp crossed his arms and frowned. "So what else happened?"

Luffy stared at the deck and muttered, "It caught fire."

There was silence. "It caught fire," Nami repeated, voice devoid of emotion. Luffy nodded. " _How_?"

"I don't know! I didn't mean for it to destroy everything! I tried to put it out but it just got bigger and bigger! I had to run before the guards caught me!"

Nami put her head into her hands while Zoro and Sanji both started laughing. Usopp was torn between laughing and crying. One stupid mistake and now the rubbery teen jumped to the top of the East Blue's most wanted list. Bounty hunters from all over would be coming for his head. Strong ones too.

He copied Nami and let his head fall into his hands. They were going to die.

* * *

Ace stared at the wanted poster. He set it on the table, closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples. Obviously there was some kind of mistake. Taking a deep breath, he cracked an eye open and looked back down at the poster. Nothing had changed.

He couldn't even entertain the thought of it being someone else. While it didn't show his entire face, that was  _definitely_  Luffy. Or Strawhat as the government was calling him. He was proud that his little brother was finally making it as a pirate, but it had barely been two  _months_  since he'd have set sail. What the  _hell_  had he done to warrant such a high bounty?

He glanced up when people sat around him, not moving his hands from his temples. Thatch leaned over his left shoulder and whistled. "I'm impressed."

Marco shook his head. "Everyone'll be after him." Ace let his head fall onto the table. Of  _course_  Luffy would manage to get himself into this level of trouble in only a few months. It was  _Luffy_.

"What's the matter Ace," Haruta was grinning at him, "Upset someone beat your starting bounty?"

He let out a strangled laugh. No, he wasn't upset. Proud, shocked, curious, and disbelieving yes, but not upset. He grinned up at the others. "I really shouldn't be surprised. It's  _Luffy_."

Marco raised an eyebrow. "You know him?"

Sitting up straight, he grabbed the wanted poster again and held it up proudly, grin widening. "He's my little brother."

* * *

Shanks laughed in disbelief. Anchor sure had done it now. He couldn't  _wait_  to see how much he'd grown! "This calls for a celebration!" His crew cheered and broke out the booze, ignoring the fact most of them were still hungover from last night party. It wasn't every day their little Anchor got his first bounty after all.

* * *

Rayleigh laughed when Shakky showed him the wanted poster. That boy sure knew how to shake things up! Shakky leaned against the bar, smiling down at the piece of paper. "It's impressive. A starting bounty of one hundred million. I don't think anyone's managed that in quite some time."

Rayleigh grinned and downed his drink. "The closest I can recall is Boa Hancock, and hers was only eighty million."

Shakky took a sip of her own drink before lighting a cigarette. "He's going to shake the world."

"That he is." Rayleigh recalled the boy he'd trained, and the growth he'd witnessed. "That he is."

* * *

**Okay, so Nami and Sanji have** **_officially_  joined the crew.**

**Now, with Luffy's reaction to the scar. It's not the scar itself but the memories attached to it. In canon, when Ace died, Ace was at peace and accepted his death because it protected Luffy. Luffy also knew that being a pirate meant there was always a chance of death and being killed. With his hometown though, they were innocent people. They didn't deserve it. It was ruthless and there was no sense to it. Luffy couldn't do _anything_. So while he seems all fine and okay, the memories still torment him when something happens that reminds him of it.**

**And as for the wanted poster. In canon, Luffy keeps screaming his name at the top of his lungs and his desire to be the pirate king. In here, he hasn't really done that. He still states his desire, but he doesn't go screaming his name for everyone to hear while he does so. His opponents are weak enough that he can beat them easily. They'll correct it with his name really soon, but the rat of a marine who was in Arlong's pocket didn't know it. As for the picture...it was a spur of the moment decision. Think Luffy's normal bounty picture, but a profile view instead of head on.**

**With the burning of High Town. I wanted Luffy to do _something_ , and originally it wasn't going to be anything really destructive, but at the same time Luffy manages to cause chaos and destruction wherever he goes without even trying. So him destroying High Town caused the bounty to be even higher even though it was an accident.**

**Can you tell that nothing in this story winds up going the way I originally planned it to?**

**Anyway, thanks for reading and don't forget to let me know what you thought!**

**~Akirafanatic**


	10. Chapter 10

Luffy stared up at the execution stand. "There is it…So that's where the great pirate king was executed…the place where the greatest pirate in history was put to death…and the place where the pirate age began." He felt excitement rush though him and walked closer.

He wanted –  _needed_  – to see what the pirate king had seen when he'd died. He quickly scaled the steel beams, hopping onto the top of the platform and looking out at the city. "Wow! So  _this_  is what the pirate king saw before he died!" He could  _just_  see the ocean from here.

"Hey you!" Luffy looked down, trying to spot who was yelling. "Get down from there this instant!"

He frowned. "Why?" He wanted to stay up there some more. The crowd below seemed to think it was funny and laughed while the guy who'd shouted at him answered.

"Because that's a special execution stand that belongs to the world government! So get down from there imm-" He was cut off as a large spiked club slammed into his cheek, sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Oh don't be so uptight about the rules Mr. Police Officer." The woman who'd hit the officer turned to look up at him. "I've been looking all over for you Luffy! It's been awhile." Luffy tilted his head in confusion. She didn't look familiar at all. "Don't tell me you've forgotten my face?"

"I don't know any pretty ladies like you." The only pretty lady he knew was Makino, and she was gone now. Nami and the rich ojou-sama from Usopp's island were pretty too, but they weren't ladies. Shanks had said a lady was a fully-grown adult woman. "Who are you?"

"I certainly haven't forgotten about you…after all, you  _were_  the first man to ever hit my beautiful face."

Luffy frowned. He didn't remember even  _meeting_  her, let alone  _hitting_  her. "I hit your face?" Maybe he'd done it on accident? Ace always complained about Luffy hitting him on accident when they were younger, but he hadn't done that in  _years_.

The lady put a hand on her cheek and smiled. "That way you handled me so roughly…it left me  _breathless_." She turned towards the crowd and spread her arms out. "Tell me, people! Who is the most beautiful one among the seas!" They all screamed out that it was her. She smirked. "Yes, it's me. There's no man in this world that won't kneel before me. But you see, I only love  _strong_  men. I'll have you be mine at last Luffy."

Luffy wasn't  _anyone's_. "Shut up. You're annoying. Just who the heck are you?"

"You  _still_  don't realize?!" She was about to continue, but the police surrounded her and claimed she was under arrest. Luffy sat on the edge of the platform, one leg dangling as he watched. "You think you can arrest me?"

Before anyone could move, the fountain exploded. Luffy frowned at the large chunk flying towards the pretty lady. Shanks had told him he should protect women and children who couldn't protect themselves, but he'd watched her assault an officer with a giant mace that was still resting on her shoulder. She could obviously see it coming, but did nothing to move out of the way. Just as the piece was about to hit her, it suddenly slipped past her without leaving so much as a scratch.

"My, my. Wasn't that rather dangerous?" Luffy's eyes were wide as he stared at the woman. What had just happened? Why hadn't it hit her?

A cloaked figure appeared from the smoke of the explosion with a small laugh. "My apologies. But with your smooth skin, you should, of course, be unharmed. My lovely lady Alvida."

Luffy blinked. Alvida. That name was familiar. He tilted his head to the side as an image of a large woman passed through his mind. He didn't see her anywhere though. "Where's Alvida?"

The woman pointed to herself. "He's calling  _me_  Alvida! You idiot!" He frowned. She didn't look  _anything_  like the Alvida he knew. The woman grinned and tossed her cloak aside. "So you've noticed. My body has changed since I ate a devil fruit! The name of my devil fruit is the Sube Sube Fruit! There is no attack that can leave a wound on my beautiful skin anymore! Unfortunately though, the fruit did nothing to change my beauty…but as you pointed out, my freckles did indeed disappear!"

Luffy waved his hand in front of his face. That's not what he was thinking. She didn't seem to care as she continued talking. "In any case, if you're really fit to be my man, then you certainly can't afford to lose to this man!" He had no idea what she was talking about. Her man? "I've teamed up with him, exclusively for the purpose of finding you!"

The other person threw off their cloak and started yelling at him. Luffy didn't bother to listen. What was up with everyone yelling at him today? Taking out his staff, he casually assembled it before swinging it backwards, smacking whoever was sneaking up behind him off the platform. He looked down at the man with the funny nose who was still yelling at him. "Who  _are_  you people?" He ignored the way their jaws dropped and jumped down, putting his staff away as he did so. The strong presence he felt when they arrived was coming closer, and he told Nami he wouldn't start any fights.

He'd seen what he wanted to anyway, so there was no reason for him to stay. "See ya." He didn't wait for them to get over their shock and grinned as he ran back towards the Merry. His grin widened when he saw his crew together at the entrance to the plaza. "Hey!" He laughed as he ran past them. "Let's go!"

"What's the hurry?" Zoro easily kept pace with him, Usopp, Sanji, and Nami slightly behind with their large bags and funky fish.

"The marines are surrounding the plaza."

"Not only that, but a huge storm is coming this way!" Nami sped up a little. "The air pressure and temperature's been dropping for the past while now! I also saw cumulus clouds heading from the east! That's a sure sign of a storm! We have to get back to the Merry and make sure she isn't swept away!"

Luffy laughed as Usopp suddenly kicked into high gear, all but pulling the fish out of Sanji's hands as the cook stumbled from the sudden increase in speed. This was so much fun!

* * *

Nami wondered what had made her think she could survive the grand line on her own. The second they arrived they'd been  _eaten_  by a giant whale. Then she found out she couldn't even use a normal compass to navigate. Thankfully Crocus had given them one after the one Luffy found had broken. And if that weren't bad enough, traveling from the entrance of the grand line to their first island had been  _hell_.

It had started off nice and warm before it started snowing out of nowhere with sporadic bursts of lightning. She'd only taken her eyes off the log pose for a  _minute_ , but in that time they'd somehow managed to completely turn around. As they got back on course the snow gave way to warm, spring-like weather as the waves got choppy, icebergs randomly appeared, and a heavy fog rolled in. Their ship had been close to being destroyed and every time Nami took her eyes off the log pose, no matter how short a time, they managed to drift off course or get completely turned around.

She was thankful when their destination came into sight and the weather finally calmed down. Had she really tried to come here on her own, she would have died for  _sure_.

"Now then, we ask you please drop us off here." Nami turned towards their two passengers, raising an eyebrow as they leapt onto the railing.

"Thank you for taking us here, my honeys! If fate wills it, then let us meet again!"

"Bye-bye Baby!"

Her eyes widened as the two jumped into the water. "They're gone…"

Usopp shook his head. "Just what is up with those two?"

Luffy laughed from the front of the ship. "Forget about 'em! Prepare to land!"

Nami pointed ahead. "There's a river right up ahead. Looks like we can dock inland."

"T-There wouldn't be any monsters on this island now, right?"

Sanji exhaled a stream of smoke and answered. "Considering this place is the grand line and all, I'd say there's a good possibility."

Luffy laughed. "We can always leave if that's the case."

Nami shook her head. He hadn't heard a  _word_  of what Crocus had said. "Wait just a second. Don't forget that we have to stay on this island for a certain amount of time."

Her captain tilted his head. "Why?"

"This log pose has to record this island's magnetic field before we can move on to the next island. And the recording time varies for each island. There're some islands that take only a few hours to record, while some take even a few days."

Usopp wasn't pleased. "T-Then even if we come to a horrible monster island that we want to run away from, it's possible that we'll have to stay on it for several days?!"

She nodded. "That's right."

Luffy leaned back against the figurehead with a smile. "We'll worry about it when it happens. So let's just go already! It'd be weird not to go in when there's a river in front waiting for us!"

Nami sighed. "For  _you_  maybe."

"No, what he says is right." She looked at Zoro. "There's no use in worrying about it, so let's just go."

"I'll protect you Nami!"

"H-H-Hey guys…listen…I, uh…I think I've suddenly developed a  _can't-enter-islands_  disease."

Nami sighed again. "Fine, let's go in then." She navigated the ship into the river, careful because of all the fog. The  _last_  thing they needed was more damage to their ship. She frowned as she squinted towards where the land should be. "I can hear people, but this fog's too thick to see them."

Usopp cowered. "People?! You're sure it's  _people_?!"

They sailed further in and the fog slowly lifted. "Pirates!" People were crowding the shore, waving at them. Nami frowned. "Welcome to our town! Welcome to the grand line!" She'd never heard of a place that welcomed pirates like this. She didn't like the feeling she was getting. "Long live the brave heroes of the sea!"

Sanji ran to the side of the boat, hearts in his eyes. "There's a bunch of lovely ladies too!"

Usopp started blowing kisses. "Talk about a warm welcome! Looks like pirates really  _are_  the people's hero's!" Luffy was cheering along with everyone else. Zoro was the only one aside from her who wasn't celebrating. The way he kept his hand on his swords, though he looked relaxed, showed he didn't trust this town either. Either way, she steered the ship to the dock while Zoro lowered their anchor.

"Wel-ahem…ma-ma-maaa…Welcome. My name is Igarappoi. You may be a little shocked at the welcome, but this is Whiskey Peak, a town of liquor and music."  _Two things pirates loved_ , Nami thought sarcastically. "Hospitality is our middle name. If it's fine liquor you want, we have an ocean's worth. So please, I cordially invite you to our banquet, and hope that you may entread-ahem…ma-ma-maaa…Entreat us with tales of your adventures."

Nami glanced at Luffy who seemed taken with the man's curly hair. He, Usopp, and Sanji all cheered as they accepted and she sighed. Of course those three idiots would believe them. She held their log pose up to the man who'd welcomed them. "By the way, how long will it take for this island's log to be recorded?"

"Log? Please, put aside thinking of such weary matters for now and focus on resting from your journey!" Nami grimaced slightly when he pulled her close and gestured to the townsfolk. "Everyone! Prepare the banquet! And let us sing to our heart's content for these adventurers!" She'd go along for now with it for now. If they really were just kind people who welcomed pirates, then she'd happily leave when the log was set. But if they tried anything, she'd steal every last beli they had for trying to trick them.

* * *

Luffy rolled to the side, eyes snapping open, as someone tried to attack him. He blindly threw a punch, connecting with flesh, and sending whoever it was through the wall. Rayleigh hadn't been below attacking him when he was sleeping as they trained, saying he always needed to be on his guard if he wanted to survive. Rubbing his eyes, he pushed his way to his feet, swaying a little and patting his round stomach. He'd never eaten until he'd been  _full_  before. Satisfied, yes, but never completely  _full_.

He waddled towards the hole, wondering who'd tried to attack him, and frowned when he saw one of the nice people who'd thrown them the party lying there with a pistol in his hand. Why would they attack him? They'd thrown them a party and given them lots of yummy food! "Luffy?"

He turned towards Nami, spotting Sanji and Usopp passed out nearby. Zoro wasn't here, but Luffy could sense him nearby, along with a lot of other people. "What's going on?"

The navigator sighed, tapping a finger against the staff he'd gotten for her at Loguetown. "This town is really a den of bounty hunters. They were going to turn us into the marines for that hundred million beli bounty on your head. Zoro's taking care of them now though." Luffy was disappointed. They'd been a lot of fun, and their food had been really good too. She sighed irritably. "I was using the commotion Zoro was causing to find their treasure, but I can't find a single beli! For a bunch of bounty hunters, they're completely broke!"

Luffy yawned. "I'm gonna sleep some more." He fell back and closed his eyes as Nami yelled that he should help Zoro. "Zoro will be fine. He's stronger than they are. Besides, he'll get mad at me again if I butt in. I  _did_  tell him I'd let him fight stronger people since he got stuck with the weak ones when we fought the fishmen."

Nami groaned in annoyance. "Fine. Try not to get killed! We're leaving once the sun comes up!"

He nodded and yawned again, letting sleep overtake him. Zoro would be fine.

* * *

Vivi didn't know what to think about these pirates. They were clearly strong – the green haired swordsman had taken out all one hundred bounty hunters, Igaram, Mr. Nine, Miss Monday, Miss Valentine,  _and_  Mister Five all by himself. And he wasn't even the  _captain_!

They'd protected her when they didn't have to, and even when she'd admitted that she didn't have any money had  _still_  offered to take her back home. Vivi had been worried they wouldn't escape even with Igaram's sacrifice, as Miss All Sunday had appeared, but she had actually let them go, stating that the next island would kill them.

And now they were sailing towards this  _Little Garden_  place, and the pirates she was putting her trust in were all sitting around the deck. The swordsman, cook, and sniper were all blindfolded while the navigator and captain hit them with their staffs.

Luffy turned towards he with a smile. "Vivi! Wanna join us?"

Nami grinned. "We can find you a broom or something if you want to. You don't even have to get hit if you don't want to."

"I don't understand…what are you even  _doing_?"

"Training!" Luffy looked so happy as he swung his staff behind him. The swordsman ducked in time, letting it smash into the cook's head and sending him sprawling into the sniper. It looked painful, but the two who'd been hit simply grumbled before righting themselves again.

"Training for…what?"

Nami sighed and lowered her staff. "Luffy's turn!" She grinned up at Vivi while the three who'd been blindfolded took them off, the swordsman handing his to the captain who put his staff away before putting it on. "It's easier to show you. Luffy's been training longer than we have, so he'll demonstrate."

Vivi blinked when Luffy's strawhat suddenly appeared in front of her face. "Hold this for me." She took the hat, eyes widening slightly when his hand suddenly snapped back to normal. She hadn't realized he had a devil fruit.

She watched as Nami twirled her staff, Sanji lightly kicked the toe of his shoe against the deck, Usopp fixed his goggles in place, and Zoro pulled out all three of his swords. It was only when Luffy made a 'come here' gesture that she realized what was about to happen. She leaned forward with a yell just as all four made to attack their captain, but any warning she meant to give was caught in her throat as she watched Luffy dance around all the attacks like it was nothing. He moved so gracefully and lightly, bending and twisting at impossible angles to avoid the attacks.

His crew held nothing back. When one of Nami's strikes missed and hit Usopp, the sniper went flying back into the railing. When Luffy jumped out of the way of one of Sanji's kicks, his foot met Zoro's swords in a loud crash that had both of them flying backwards. They continued for almost twenty minutes before it ended with Luffy finally going on the offensive. He grabbed Nami's staff as she tried to hit him again and wrenched it from her grip with one solid shove before jabbing the end she'd been holding into her gut and using it to flip her into Sanji, who instantly redirected his kick to hit Usopp as he caught her.

Keeping Nami's staff with him, he used it to block Zoro's strikes before twisting at an odd angle and attempting to trip the swordsman who managed to jump over it. Unfortunately that left him open in midair where Luffy slammed into him, wrapping his arms multiple times around Zoro's and stretching his hands out to grip the katana in the green haired male's teeth, effectively pinning him to the ground.

Vivi was amazed. She'd never seen anyone do anything like that before. Luffy released Zoro and pulled off the blindfold, grinning as he offered his crewmate a hand. "You almost got me that time!" Vivi's eyes were drawn to the area Luffy was gesturing to, seeing a cut on his vest. He turned to the others. "Usopp, you're getting better at hitting moving targets! If Nami hadn't accidently tripped Sanji into that one shot, it would have hit me! Nami, you managed to keep hold of your staff until the very end, and your hits are getting harder! Lifting weights with Zoro is really helping you! Sanji, you're still too focused on Nami when we fight. She's able to hold her own and doesn't need you constantly hovering to make sure she doesn't get hurt. You know I wouldn't let anyone get serious injuries."

She watched as the crew nodded, Nami and Usopp lighting up at the praise. "Hey Luffy…" Usopp rubbed some of his bruises as he walked over to the captain. "Do you think you could teach me some basic fighting techniques?"

"Why?"

"I'm confident in my sniping skills, but training like this got me to thinking. What would happen if I somehow lost my slingshot or ran out of ammo during a fight? What if an enemy got too close? I want to be prepared just in case. Zoro is a swordsman, but even he knows how to fight without them."

Nami laughed happily as Luffy agreed. "You should join me and Zoro in lifting weights. It'd help with your strength and you could probably make your shots fly further."

Sanji leaned back against the railing. "I bet if you made a weighted slingshot it could act as a weapon too if you run out of ammo. Then you wouldn't just have to rely on your fists."

Vivi watched as they interacted. They were all so close with each other. She clenched the rim of the strawhat tighter as she looked away. She used to have friends like that. Before Crocodile and the revolution.

She looked up when a hand landed on her shoulder. Luffy was next to her, smiling softly. "Want to join us?" He jerked his thumb towards the others and she looked back over, finding them all sitting in a loose circle, smiling up at her. "No hitting or fighting. Just meditating."

"Meditating?" Luffy nodded. She looked at him for a few seconds before nodding. She held out his strawhat with a small smile. "I'd like that."

* * *

Nami lined up the log pose with the island. "There's no doubt about it. Our next destination is that island!"

Luffy cheered. "Our second island on the grand line!"

Vivi frowned as they got closer. "We should be careful…I'm worried about what Miss All Sunday said about this island."

Usopp gulped. "Y-You don't think there are monsters here…do you?"

Sanji crossed his arms. "We gotta stock up on some food pretty soon. I wasn't able to restock at all at the last town."

Nami stared up at the giant towering trees, wondering why is was called  _Little Garden_  when everything was so freaking  _huge_. Did they think it was  _funny_? "I've never seen any plants like these even in my encyclopedia!" She flinched as a loud roar came from somewhere inside the jungle. "What was that just now?!"

"Terrified Nami is so cute!" She glared at Sanji. "Don't worry, it's just a normal bird. And even this island, is nothing but your average jungle."

Luffy's eyes widened as the  _giant_  bird swooped overhead. "A lizard?"

A huge explosion from somewhere in the jungle trembled through the ship. "Does this  _sound_  like your average jungle?! That sounded like a volcano exploding or something!" She whirled around at a growl, heart sinking at the huge animal that came stumbling out. "A tiger?!" It collapsed, blood seeping from numerous wounds on it's body. She turned towards the rest of the crew. "This is  _definitely not_ normal! Otherwise, why would a tiger, king of the jungle, collapse covered in its own blood?!"

She didn't care how strong she was getting through training. This was too much. "Let's just quietly wait on our ship and leave the very second our log pose finishes recording! After all, we have to hurry on to Alabasta as soon as possible."

Luffy grinned at her. "You can stay here. I wanna go exploring!" He was almost vibrating in excitement. "There's something  _huge_  on this island!"

Luffy jumped up and down. "Sanji! Prepare a lunch box! A great big  _Pirate_  one!" She knew there was no stopping him.

"Could I come along with you?" Nami's jaw dropped as she turned to the princess. Luffy had told them there was something  _huge_  on this island, they'd seen a giant lizard bird thing, and a tiger had collapsed out of the forest in a pool of it's own blood, but she still wanted to go exploring?! Vivi smiled at her. "Just standing around here doing nothing is only going to end up making me think about my worried again. So I may as well try to clear my head until the log pose finishes recording. It'll be fine! Caru will be by my side, after all."

Nami turned to the duck, raising an eyebrow at the petrified creature. "Your trusty  _bodyguard_  looks too scared to even quack."

Sanji poked his head out of the galley. "Then allow me to make a lunchbox of love for you, Vivi!"

"Could you also make another drink for Caru as well?"

"Of course!"

Zoro stood up and stretched. "Since we're gonna be here for a while I'm gonna go for a walk."

Nami put her head in her hands. At this rate she and Usopp would be the only ones left on the ship. The green haired male walked towards the railing and jumped over just as Sanji handed Luffy and Vivi their lunch boxes. "Hey Zoro, wait a second!"

Luffy didn't waste time in running off into the jungle, Caru carrying Vivi right behind him. Zoro turned back to the cook. "We're running out of food onboard, so if you see any animals that look to be edible, can you hunt it down and bring it back?"

"Sure thing. I'll go hunt for some animals that you'd never be able to kill yourself."

"WAIT RIGHT THERE!"

"Huh?"

"Did I hear you wrong, or did you just imply that you could hunt a bigger game than I can?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

"That's  _it_! I challenge you to a hunting contest!"

Nami felt tears flow down her cheeks at the two took off into the forest. "Why does everyone on this ship have to be like that?" She'd been  _joking_  when she'd said she and Usopp would be the last ones on the ship. She hadn't wanted it to actually  _happen_.

Usopp was crying next to her. "I know exactly how you feel, Nami. Don't cry…at least I'm by your side."

They were going to die.

* * *

Usopp stared at the two giants fighting in awe. "Even without any reason, they fight like this…"

"God, what a nuisance they are…"

He frowned at Nami's words, crossing his arms over his chest. "You fool! This is what a man's fight is!"

"…What?"

"Let's say that there's a metaphorical flag raised in their hearts…and those flags are more important than their very lives! They don't want their flags to be broken no matter what! And so, to protect that flag, they continue this fight for over one hundred years! Can't you see?! This is a real battle of pride between two warriors!"

"Well, I'm not interested in any of that stuff so I'm going to take off!"

"I'm going to stay here a bit longer and watch!" This fight was amazing! "This is it! This is what I meant by brave warrior of the seas! I want to become a proud warrior just like them!"

"So you want to be a giant huh?"

"DID YOU EVEN LISTEN TO ANYTHING I JUST SAID?!" He frowned at her for a bit before turning back towards the fight. "If there's an entire village full of warriors like them, I'd sure like to visit it one day!" He was pulled back into the fight, watching as the two traded furious blows before slamming their shields into each other's faces.

They both fell backwards, declaring it their seventy-three thousand, four hundred and sixty-six draws. The two started laughing together. When Brogy returned, he told the great warrior of his dream to become a brave warrior of the sea.

"A brave warrior of the seas? What's that?"

"It's someone like you! I want to become just like you two one day!"

"A giant?"

Nami laughed. "NO! That's not what I mean!" He thumped a fist against his chest. "I want to live proudly and honorably, just like the warriors of Elbaf!"

Brogy laughed. "I see! We giants have much longer lifespans than you humans, and as such, we wish nothing more than an honorable death. After all, one's fortunes of life is all bound to come to an end one day. To a warrior of Elbaf, to die without tarnishing one's pride is what we mean by an honorable death. Our pride alone never comes to an end. It's an eternal treasure that's passed on through the lands of Elbaf."

"So it's your treasure!" These giants were everything he aspired to be. Brogy stood up when the volcano erupted again. Usopp leapt to his feet, excited and honored to be able to witness another fight between these amazing warriors. "Go and get him master Brogy!"

"Sure! I will crush him down this time!"

Nami sighed as Brogy left for the fight. "Why do they have to continue this stupid fight?"

Usopp frowned. "Don't say that this fight is stupid!"

Nami rolled her eyes. "Anyway, let's go back to our ship since it will take a year to lock on to the frequency. We'd better wait for everyone and try to find the way out."

"Wait a minute. I can't fight a dinosaur! So, there is no way that we can get our of this forest!" He didn't care how much training he'd been doing. He was still only human. He still wasn't convinced Luffy, Zoro, or Sanji were actually human.

"But didn't you say that you are a great warrior of the sea or something like that?"

"I meant that my heart has become the great warrior! I wish to be a warrior who is proud of himself!"

"We have no choice left. Let's go to see Luffy at the other giant's house."

"One day, even if I have to lose everything or I have to face death alone on an isolated island, I will die with pride and my last words will be  _'I AM USOPP, THE GREAT WARRIOR OF THE SEVEN SEAS!'_ That's what I hope."

Nami grasped his bag and pulled him backwards. "Ok, ok, I understand. Then please, become a great warrior soon, ok?"

Usopp choked as the strap of his bag dug into his neck. "Sure."

He tugged his bag out of the navigator's hand and followed her. He shivered as they went deeper into the forest, feeling like something was watching them. Feeling warm wind on his back, he turned his head and screamed. Nami joined him the moment she saw what was behind them.

Usopp ran as fast as he could, not wanting to be eaten. "IT'S A DINOSAUR!" He kept running until he heard Nami scream, turning around to see what had happened. His eyes widened when he didn't see her. "N…Nami?" Nobody answered. "NAMI! WHERE ARE YOU NAMI?! NAMI!" Still no answer. "T…This is bad!"

Usopp turned and ran as fast as he could to where the other giant's home was, hoping Luffy was still there. "LUFFY!" Spotting the other teen, he tried to skid to a stop but instead slammed into a large rock. Shaking it off, he turned towards the rubber male. "WE'RE IN BIG TROUBLE! NAMI WAS EATEN BY A DINOSAUR!"

Luffy looked horrified. "IS THAT TRUE?!"

"We were running out of the jungle and suddenly, she disappeared! What am I going to do?! I let my friend die!"

"Wait a minute! Calm down!" Usopp turned towards Vivi, tears streaking down his cheeks. He knew he was a coward and always ran away, but how could he have left Nami like that? "You said that Nami disappeared. Have you checked around the area?"

"I'm scared to death! How can I check?! If it's not a dinosaur, then it must be some kind of monster! What else can it be?!" She would have responded to him if he could, and he'd rather get Luffy or Zoro or Sanji than risk being eaten as well. They were monsters themselves and had a better chance at finding her.

Vivi shook her head. "I'm not sure about that. You're not on Baroque Works wanted list, but Nami is. It's possible that she was eaten, but what if Baroque Works sent someone to this island? Then it'd make sense if she was taken and you weren't."

"She's still alive." Usopp turned towards Luffy. His face was scrunched up in concentration. "I can still feel her."

"You can tell which one's Nami?" Usopp thought he could just tell where someone was, not who they were.

Luffy's face scrunched up even more. "Normally I can't, but if I concentrate  _really hard_  then I can kinda tell, but only with people I know." He let out a relieved sigh and opened his eyes. "She's with Zoro. There are some others too, but Zoro can protect them." Usopp fell to his knees in relief. He'd been sure Nami had been eaten. "My head hurts."

Vivi crossed her arms. "Looks like Baroque Works  _is_  on the island. Maybe they captured Mr. Bushido as well. I'm sure the rum was meant for us as well."

Usopp looked up at her. "Rum? What's wrong with the rum?" He listened as Vivi explained how the rum on their ship had been tampered with and wound up exploding in Dory's stomach. "WHAT?! THE RUM EXPLODED INSIDE HIS STOMACH?! SO, HE WENT TO FIGHT WITH THAT INJURY?!" Usopp was angry. "BOTH OF THEM RISKED EVERYTHING IN THIS FIGHT FOR THE PAST HUNDRED YEARS! AND THEY ALWAYS DRAW! THIS MIGHT BE THE GREATEST FIGHT IN THE WORLD! AND IT'LL END BECAUSE OF THIS STUPID REASON?!"

He turned towards the giants fighting just in time to see blood spurt from Dory's wound as he fell, making Brogy the winner. He jumped when he heard something slam, and turned around to find Luffy smashing his head into the ground. "Luffy!" The rubber teen looked angry.

"WHO DID THIS?! SHOW YOURSELF!" Luffy struggled to pull himself free from the mountain he'd been trapped under.

Usopp grit his teeth. "Luffy. I don't know who they are, but I'll take care of them!" His legs were shaking at the thought, but these people had interfered with an honorable duel. He couldn't stand around and do  _nothing_.

"I'll help you!"

He grinned towards Vivi. "Good! You're very brave! Just follow me!"

"You don't have to find us." He jumped at the new voice, spinning around to find two people standing at the edge of the clearing. Caru was between them, beaten and bloody. "I want to return this thing to you because it's not necessary anymore." The girl with him laughed.

"CARU! Why?! Why did you hurt Caru?! He didn't do anything to you!"

"Hey! Who are they?"

"I don't know." Luffy was glaring at them. "But I bet they're the ones who did this!"

The guy in the trench coat smirked. "You're right. This bird didn't do anything. We tried to separate you from the others by using him. We tried to make it call for help, but this bird really pissed me off. Anyway, since it seems we already caught the other two, then we don't need this bird anymore."

Vivi ran towards Caru, falling to her knees and making sure he was alright. "Caru!" She glared at the other two who simply laughed. "You!"

Usopp pointed towards them. "Are you the ones who put the bomb in that rum?!"

"Yeah, so what? Who are you two anyway?" He turned towards the woman he was with. "Are they on the list, too?"

"No, but they're friends of the others, so we'd better kill them too."

"You destroyed the honor of those giant's battle!"

Luffy kept trying to get out from under the mountain. "You did this?! I'll crush you into the ground!"

Vivi pulled out her weapons while Usopp readied his slingshot. "So, do you want to do something Ms. Wednesday?"

The girl in the lemon outfit laughed. "You think you can hurt us?"

Vivi ran forward, twirling her weapons around her pinkies. Usopp loaded one of his special exploding stars and fired. The two didn't bother to move as it exploded. A hand came out of the smoke and Usopp grit his teeth. Something flew from the hand and he didn't have time to move before he was caught up in an even bigger explosion. He coughed out smoke, blinking to try and clear his eyes. "Ten-thousand-kilogram press!" He felt his ribs crack as something slammed into him from above before everything went dark again.

* * *

Nami frowned as she looked at her feet. "I can't move my legs." They were trapped in  _something_  with something else spinning over their heads. She had no idea what was happening. Zoro was next to her with Vivi on his other side.

"What kind of enemies would let us run around?"

"What is coming down here?"

"HOW DO YOU LIKE MY CANDLE SERVICE?" The guy with weird hair in the shape of the three laughed. "The candle mist that falls from above will soon turn you all into candles! You will be one of my best works of art! Candle dolls that are filled with the real souls! Just die for the sake of art!"

Nami's eyes widened. "NO WAY! WHY DO I HAVE TO DIE FOR YOUR WORK!?" She turned towards the giant lying net to them. "Mr. Brogy! Do something! Don't stay still! Otherwise, you'll become a candle too!"

Zoro folded his arms across his chest. "That'd be one big candle."

The weird guy down below shook his head. "No matter what you say, it's not going to work. He was so happy over his victory that he cried! I don't know if it's because he really is that insensitive, or because of his friend. He killed his best friend of one hundred years with his own hands! He truly is stupid! He didn't even realize that his friend was injured!"

Brogy closed his eyes. "I knew from the moment we started that Dory was keeping something from me."

"You knew but you still fought him?"

"You don't know the real meaning of this fight! How can you understand my tears?! A person like you wouldn't understand! He fought with pride in his heart! How can I disgrace him? YOU WANT ME TO DESTROY THE PRIDE OF A WARRIOR WHO WAS PREPARED TO RISK HIS LIFE?!" Brogy managed to break the wax holding down his right arm. "I completely understand. Because of that, I  _had_  to fight him with these hands. BECAUSE IT'S THE BEST AND MOST RIGHTEOUS THING I CAN DO FOR MY FRIEND DORY!"

Before he could break free any more, a sudden explosion went off in Brogy's face. Nami was horrified. "Mr. Brogy!" The girl with the stupid lemon theme laughed while the guy with the three-hair muttered to himself. He formed a sword out of wax and plunged it into Brogy's hand, causing the giant to scream in pain. "MR. BROGY!" Mr. Three did the same to Brogy's other hand and both his feet as well ,yelling that if he moved he'd destroy his arms and legs.

Viv glared. "That's a very low thing to do!"

Mr. Three laughed. "I'll increase the speed of my candle service! You will become my candle dolls soon!" The giant pumpkin thing above them started spinning faster, more of the wax flakes coming down. Nami coughed and put her hands to her throat. "I can't breathe!" The wax was coating the inside of her lungs. It was hard to take even a small breath.

"THAT'S RIGHT! IF POSSIBLE I WANT YOU TO SUFFER! BECAUE THE PIECE OF ART I WANT SHOULD REPRESENT SUFFERING AND FEAR! BECOME A CANDLE WITH FEAR IN YOUR HEARTS!"

"A piece of art?! That's really disgusting!" How could anyone call someone's corpse a piece of art? "Zoro, do something!"

Mr. Three laughed again. It was really staring to grate on her nerves. "LOOK AT YOUR FACES! THAT'S A VERY GOOD EXPRESSION! SADNESS AND SUFFERING! SADNESS AND TORTURE! THIS WILL BECOME MY BEST PIECE OF ART!"

Nami stared at her arms, horrified. "I can't move my arms!" She couldn't even wiggle her fingers anymore. At this rate they really would become candles! Where was Luffy?!

"Can you move?" She used all her strength to turn and look at Zoro. He was gazing straight ahead. "If you can lost your arms and legs, it's better than died and not doing anything." Nami wasn't sure she liked what he was saying. "I'll try and move too." He pulled out one of his swords. Nami hated how easy he was able to move. "I will cut both my legs off. Don't you want to come and take care of those people with me?"

She knew it. "CUT YOUR LEGS OFF?! ARE YOU KIDDING?! THIS ISN'T THE TIME FOR STUPID JOKES!"

"I'm not joking."

"WHAT ABOUT US? THAT'S WORTHLESS! IF YOU DO THAT, THEY'LL BE ABLE TO CATCH YOUANYWAY!"

Zoro grinned. "If you don't try, you'll never know. Anyway, we're going to die if we do nothing, so why not try our best? I don't want to die by those pieces of trash."

Brogy laughed. "You're a very brave young man! I was about to give up! Okay. I'll do it!"

Nami was completely fed up. "ARE YOU KIDDING?! IF YOU LOST BOTH YOU LEGS, HOW CAN YOU FIGHT THEM?!"

"Wait a minute! I'll fight with you too!"

She couldn't believe this. "Vivi!" Even Vivi was going along with this madness?

Zoro pulled out a second sword. "Okay."

"LET'S DO IT!" Brogy grit his teeth and started trying to stand up while Zoro aimed his swords at his legs.

Nami closed her eyes, not wanting to watch. "This is crazy!" Her eyes flew open at the sudden scream, relief flooding through her at the sight of Luffy. They'd be okay now. Luffy would save them.

* * *

Zoro raised an eyebrow when Luffy stopped in front of him. His captain didn't say a word as he turned around, reaching back and grabbing Zoro's arms before pulling him forward. "Wha-" He was cut off as Luffy crouched enough to wrap his arms around Zoro's legs, standing so suddenly he had to grab onto his captain's shoulders to keep from falling backwards. Luffy remained silent as he started back towards their ship. "I can walk on my own." Luffy ignored him and kept going. Zoro frowned at the tense set of the rubber teen's shoulders.

The crappy cook actually managed to keep his mouth shut when he saw them, simply falling in next to Luffy with Caru and Vivi next to him. Nami and Usopp walked silently on the other side. What should have been a celebratory mood was instead a tense one. Everyone could tell Luffy wasn't happy, and when he wasn't happy it was hard for anyone else to be.

Luffy didn't bother with the rope ladder. He simply jumped onto the railing of the ship before moving towards the galley. Zoro was all but dumped into a chair with an emotionless  _don't move_  thrown his way while his captain left. He frowned but stayed where he was. He'd rather not put the younger male in an even worse mood by disobeying a direct order.

When Luffy came back, the others had already filed in and taken their own seats. Nobody said a word as Luffy sat on the ground in front of Zoro and pulled off his boots before pushing up the ruined pant legs and exposing the still bleeding wounds on his ankles from where he'd attempted to cut his legs off. Luffy's head was tilted down as he doused a clean rag in alcohol, his strawhat covering his eyes.

Zoro frowned as Luffy pressed the rag against the wound, both from the sting and the fact that his captain's hands were shaking slightly. It wasn't the first time he'd been injured, and it wasn't even the worst. So why was Luffy so upset? Would he have rather Zoro sat there and done nothing as they were turned into wax figures? Besides, he'd stopped once Luffy and Usopp had come flying through the air.

He didn't understand why his captain was so upset when they won. Sure, he, Nami, and Vivi had come pretty close to dying, but…Zoro's frown softened slightly.  _My village was destroyed. Everyone was killed._  They'd come close to dying. He'd actually blacked out for a while. Luffy had lost his entire village, and he'd nearly lost half of his friends today.

Zoro reached down and grasped Luffy's hands, stopping him from finishing. His captain didn't resist, but didn't look up at him either. He pulled the rubber teen up and placed one of Luffy's hands over his heart, letting his captain feel the steady beating. Nothing happened for a moment, but slowly Luffy's hands balled into fists and his shoulders started shaking. "You, Nami, and Vivi almost  _died_." His voice was quiet, but there was so much  _pain_  and  _guilt_  lacing the words that Zoro was pulling his captain into a fierce hug before he realized what he was doing.

"But we didn't. We're still alive because of you and Usopp."

Nami came up beside them and leaned down, wrapping her captain in a tight hug, eyes bright with unshed tears. Vivi took the other side, wrapping her own arms around Luffy. Usopp put his hand on Luffy's shoulder, squeezing it slightly. The shitty cook was the last to join in, standing behind Zoro and pushing their captain's signature strawhat off to lay against his back before placing his hand on the rubber teen's head. "I'm sorry." Luffy's voice was no more than a whisper.

Nami shook her head and tightened her grip, a few tears escaping down her cheek. "You saved us. It wasn't your fault-"

"It shouldn't have happened!" Zoro frowned at the sudden shout. "I wasn't…I didn't take them seriously. I was playing around when I should have been protecting you!"

Everyone else started protesting that that wasn't true but Zoro stayed silent. If Luffy had been serious, it wouldn't have gone as far as it did. He knew his captain was stronger than what he'd displayed on the island. "You'll do better next time then." Luffy looked up just enough to see him and he leveled a serious look at the rubber teen. "You got overconfident since every fight has been easy for you. Because of that we nearly died today." Luffy flinched but didn't look away from him. "Don't let it happen again."

His captain nodded as he buried his head back into Zoro's chest. "I promise." He nodded, tightening his grip on the younger male and ignoring the way his shirt grew damp. Luffy took promises seriously. No matter what happened in the future, or who they faced, his captain wouldn't hold back anymore.

* * *

**Here's a nice and long chapter for ya'll. Also, I love the fact that Nami can drink just as much (if not _more_ ) than Zoro can.**

**First, I have a mighty _need_  for the crew training together. Nami and Usopp competing to see who can lift more while Zoro and Luffy just casually lift these insanely heavy weights. Sanji doesn't lift weights so much as he does squats or something with them loaded into his arms or on his back. And while I'm having Nami and Usopp train, I'm not going to make them monsters like the Monster Trio.**

**Crew bonding at the end! Luffy already watched the people he cared about die, so almost losing more right in front of him really shook him up. He underestimated the enemy. I had this island be basically the same, but you'll start to see more differences when we get to Alabasta.**

**Oh, and as for Luffy not fighting Zoro at Whiskey Peak: I _know_  that in the manga nobody attacks Luffy while he's asleep, but in here he's worth a  _lot_  more right off the bat. They don't want to take any chances so even though it's a 30% cut to the reward money they were going to kill him. And don't try and tell me Rayleigh  _wouldn't_  go as far as to attack Luffy in his sleep once he's gotten a hang of observation haki. Because he didn't fight Zoro, he wasn't with them when Vivi told Zoro and Nami about Crocodile and therefore wasn't seen by the unluckys.**

**During the training where it's Luffy vs. the Crew - Vivi thinks they're going all out, but they're not. Well, Zoro and Sanji aren't. If they went all out the ship would be destroyed. They're serious about it, yes, but they're holding back enough so they don't destroy the ship or accidently kill someone (namely Nami or Usopp). For people wondering about Zoro being unable to cut Luffy's haki in the beginning - normally, he'd be able to cut through it at least a bit, but he didn't want to hurt Luffy so his weak swing didn't cut through it. If he'd put his whole strength behind it then he would have cut Luffy at least a little. Again, this is just my take on haki.**

**I think that's about it. Don't forget to let me know what you thought! Thanks for reading!**

**~Akirafanatic**


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